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Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

uk.reuters.com

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Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#31

Post by larkost »

notliketherest wrote: post #9

Is it just me, or have folks living in the bay area noticed a huge increase in the number of "self driving" cars driving around? I've even seen a minivan with what looked to be a hastly assembled lidar driving around Sunnyvale. The space seems to be really heating up.

There are a lot of startups in the area that work on some aspect needed for self driving cars. Some specialize in the mapping tools needed for current cars (they can only go down streets that have been pre-scanned for them). Others handle the sensors or software to turn that into a useable understanding of the world. My guess is that most of them are either being started, or funded, in hopes of being picked up by one of the big players in this area. I have seen quite a number in Mountain View.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#32

Post by icanhackit »

username223 wrote: post #18
notliketherest wrote: post #9

Is it just me, or have folks living in the bay area noticed a huge increase in the number of "self driving" cars driving around? I've even seen a minivan with what looked to be a hastly assembled lidar driving around Sunnyvale. The space seems to be really heating up.

It's tempting to strap random hardware to your roof to make other drivers fear you and give you more space.

A cheaper trick would be to plaster signs on your car saying Self Driving Test Unit - Pre Alpha.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#33

Post by ajross »

Scramblejams wrote: post #30
therobot24 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Of all the SV tech giants (obviously Tesla excluded), Apple has the best DNA to build cars. whoa...chill out on the kool-aid

Lotsa downvotes on that guy. So who's got better DNA and why? Genuinely curious.

Pretty sure the takeaway is that (as above, Tesla excluded) Silicon Valley firms don't have the DNA to do heavy industrial manufacturing.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#34

Post by mrbabbage »

BillinghamJ wrote: post #10
shouldbworking wrote: post #7

Does anyone care that regulatory realities will prevent driverless cars from ever carrying human passengers? Planes and trains have been driving themselves for many years but they still have human pilots. The human need for somebody to blame is stronger than market forces trying to eliminate human drivers

Do you have anything meaningful to back up your point? Any sources? Anyone else who agrees?

On the train point, humans have operated fully automatic rail systems for nearly fifty years (the London Underground Victoria Line opened in 1968; BART in San Francisco is similarly automated and open in 1972). The first unattended train to my knowledge, the Vancouver SkyTrain, didn't open til 1985, or 17 years later.

My interpretation: it took a while—17 years—for people to warm up to driverless trains on fixed routes with no at-grade intersections.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#35

Post by draw_down »

dcwca wrote: post #11
salimmadjd wrote: post #8

Of all the SV tech giants (obviously Tesla excluded), Apple has the best DNA to build cars. They know how manufacture in scale. They know how build a vertical product. They have the cash to do it and they have a strong brand. But most importantly, if the world moves to a car-sharing car-hailing model of autonomous cars. Ultimately, it becomes a consumer mobile play. This is where both Google and Apple own that experi…

> Apple has the best DNA to build cars. They know how to manufacture in scale. Something tells me shipping your phones off to be built by other people in China and building your own auto assembly factories from scratch are two completely separate things.

That was pretty much the reaction the cell phone guys had when Apple entered their market.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#36

Post by knodi123 »

icanhackit wrote: post #32
username223 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's tempting to strap random hardware to your roof to make other drivers fear you and give you more space.

A cheaper trick would be to plaster signs on your car saying Self Driving Test Unit - Pre Alpha.

dang, you mean I'm going to have to upgrade my "Student Driver" sign?

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#37

Post by chickenbane »

dcwca wrote: post #11
salimmadjd wrote: post #8

Of all the SV tech giants (obviously Tesla excluded), Apple has the best DNA to build cars. They know how manufacture in scale. They know how build a vertical product. They have the cash to do it and they have a strong brand. But most importantly, if the world moves to a car-sharing car-hailing model of autonomous cars. Ultimately, it becomes a consumer mobile play. This is where both Google and Apple own that experi…

> Apple has the best DNA to build cars. They know how to manufacture in scale. Something tells me shipping your phones off to be built by other people in China and building your own auto assembly factories from scratch are two completely separate things.

> Something tells me shipping your phones off to be built by other people in China and building your own auto assembly factories from scratch are two completely separate things.

This is the question. Indeed, an electric auto is far simpler to manufacture than a legacy auto. Drastically less parts. Similarly, Tesla has demonstrated huge value in software component of the car, from the app, dashboard, OTA updates, not to mention fleet-wide machine learning.

Don't also forget Apple is extremely good at creating electronic devices. Apple has less than 20% of the phone device market but makes well over 90% of the profit. They hardly ever have supply issues (such as Google's Pixel) or quality issues (such as Note 7). Apple is known for their cachet and design but the reason Tim Cook is now the CEO of the largest company in the world is because their supply chain is, by far, the best in the world.

If a company is well placed to make an amazing electric car, it's Apple.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#38

Post by jcfrei »

I doubt Apple will ever launch its own car. However it seems that quite a few large IT firms consider DaaS (Driving as a Service) a viable B2B market. If you can create a superior suite of machine learning tools (including always up-to-date road data) that successfully drives passengers and goods from point A to point B then you can secure big revenue streams from automobile companies for years to come.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#39

Post by 11thEarlOfMar »

In some markets, it is more about getting it right than getting in at the right time. We've seen many carcasses of products that were ahead of their time, not because they were bad ideas but because they were not formulated for mass adoption. Apple's own Newton is one example. It took the iPhone formulation to make the product features successful in the market.

A more recent example is the telepresence robot. Many entries, but still more Newton than iPhone.

With Apple, it's easy to pick out their winners and losers: iPhone, iMac, MacBook, ... vs, Apple TV, Lisa, Newton, ....

At their current scale, Apple needs to enter really big markets in order to move the needle on sales and profits. There aren't many really big tech markets left. Cars are an interesting play in that it combines robotics and consumer tech, and puts them into a market that has room for multiple large players and plenty of opportunity for disruption. The transition to an electric drive train and autonomous navigation presents an entry point. There will be multiple winners.

Re: Apple receives permit in California to test self-driving cars

#40

Post by jacquesm »

mrbabbage wrote: post #34
BillinghamJ wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have anything meaningful to back up your point? Any sources? Anyone else who agrees?

On the train point, humans have operated fully automatic rail systems for nearly fifty years (the London Underground Victoria Line opened in 1968; BART in San Francisco is similarly automated and open in 1972). The first unattended train to my knowledge, the Vancouver SkyTrain, didn't open til 1985, or 17 years later. My interpretation: it took a while—17 years—for people to warm up to driverless trains on fixed rout…

Also in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m12tb1p_NEM

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