Apple van (Photo : Twitter)
Apple is reportedly developing an electric self-driving car in California's Silicon Valley and is searching for a location to test it in the San Francisco Bay area, perhaps at a naval base. Despite information in recent media reports, the tech giant has made no announcements about the project codenamed "Titan," and will unlikely test its driverless vehicles on open roads, unlike rivals including Google and Mercedes-Benz.
The hot news was shared by by The Telegraph.
GoMentum Station, which is secured by the military and closed to the public, contains 20 miles (32 km) of city streets and highways, according to NYC Today. Apple could test its autonomous cars there, avoiding unwanted media attention.
The company's facilities have been designed to test driverless vehicles in real-world driving conditions, according to Car and Driver. It contains 21 acres (8.5 sq. km)
GoMentum's owner Randy Iwasaki has not issued a comment about The Guardian's report. He acknowledged that Apple has shown interest in the station, but he has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company that invented Macs, iPads and iPhones.
Honda has signed a $250 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GoMentum. It plans to test its RLX Saloon self-driving car there.
Several major automakers are developing driverless cars, including Audi and Nissan. Apple might be keeping its test of autonomous vehicles top-secret in order to maintain an edge over its rivals.
This would be in line with Apple's past testing of future projects. A secret testing site would give it the ability to assess its smart cars without needing to secure a permit from California.
GoMentum's facilities are so secure are that it did not permit foreign-born Tesla workers to enter. They were there to scout the area for possible testing of self-driving cars.
