Apple Inc. could be ready to test tech for its "Project Titan" self-driving car project somewhere in the Silicon Valley area, based on recently-released documents. Google, which has had a head start in driverless car technology, has been much more transparent in its development of easier and safer autonomous transportation.
The Guardian has secured official documentation between Apple and GoMentum Station, an ex-naval base in the San Francisco Bay area that has been converted into a high-security testing facility for driverless autos. An Apple engineer made inquiries about it.
The correspondence states that the company is interested in the availability of the facility. Its entry into the self-driving car market would be in line with comments made by its senior vice president Jeff Williams In May. He referred to them as the "ultimate mobile device," according to Christian Science Monitor.
However, Apple has not confirmed that it is testing any vehicles at GoMentum, according to TechTimes. It is also possible that it could be testing other types of products.
The Guardian also reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook has had meetings with car industry executives. In addition, he has hired experts from companies such as Mercedes Benz.
Russ Rader is a senior Vice President of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. He said in 2014 that driverless car tech has been slowly entering automakers' models for many years.
Rader explained that the technological building blocks of self-driving cars are already available. That includes auto-braking and self-parking systems.
Google's self-driving car systems and software will probably hit the market by 2017. It will be followed by major carmakers around three years later.
Google launched its smart car project in 2009. It has already racked up 1 million miles in road tests, and is now building automobiles from scratch.
In theory Apple could pass the finish line before Google, although it would have to develop components and systems years before the car itself were completed, and deal with various bureaucracies such as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval for crash testing. So it is possible yet highly unlikely.
This video explains Google's road safety tests for self-driving cars: