David Hanak Project Titan is something that every Apple fan has heard of at least once. This is a project whose goal was to build its own autonomous car, which would come completely from Apple's workshops. It was supposed to be the next "big thing" and the next groundbreaking project that the Cupertino company would come up with. However, according to the latest information, it seems that the whole project could turn out differently than originally expected. No car made in Apple will arrive.
Project Titan has been talked about for several years. The first mentions that Apple might be preparing an autonomous car date back to 2014. Since then, the company has recruited a large number of experts, both from the automotive industry and from sectors focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and driving technologies . However, during the development of the project, several fundamental changes occurred, which directed the direction of all efforts in a completely different direction.
Yesterday, the New York Times brought interesting information that they have first hand. They managed to contact five engineers who worked or are still working on the project. Of course, they appear anonymously, but their story and information make sense.
The original vision of Project Titan was clear. Apple will come up with its own autonomous car, the development and production of which will be completely controlled by Apple. No production assistance from traditional manufacturers, no outsourcing. However, as it turned out later in the project phase, the production of a car is no fun, despite the fact that the company managed to obtain huge capacities from the interested fields. According to the engineers from Apple, the project failed at the very beginning, when it was not possible to fully define the goal.
Two visions competed and only one could win. The first anticipated the development of an entire, fully autonomous car. From the chassis to the roof, including all internal electronics, intelligent systems, etc. The second vision wanted to focus primarily on autonomous driving systems, which would, however, allow driver intervention, and which would subsequently be applied to "foreign" cars. Indecisiveness about the direction the project should take and what all should be implemented in this project basically paralyzed him. It all resulted in the departure of the original project director, Steve Zadesky, who stood with his vision "against everyone", especially the industrial design team, including Johny Ive.
Bob Mansfield took his place and the entire project underwent a significant restructuring. Plans for the production of a car as such were swept off the table and everything began to revolve around the autonomous systems themselves (allegedly, there is a functional prototype of the so-called carOS). A part of the original team was dismissed (or moved to other places) as there was no longer any application for them. The company managed to acquire many new experts.
Not much has been said about the project since the earthquake, but it can be assumed that work is being done diligently in Cupertino. The question is how long it will take Apple to go public with this project. What is certain is that it is certainly not the only company in Silicon Valley that deals with autonomous driving, on the contrary.
Currently, certain tests are already underway, with the help of three SUVs, on which Apple tests its prototypes of autonomous driving. In the near future, the company is expected to launch bus lines that will transport employees across the main sites in Cupertino and Palo Alto, and which will also be fully autonomous. We will probably see intelligent and independent driving from Apple. However, we'll just have to dream about the Apple car...
Source: NY Times
