Apple has reportedly met with California officials from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on September 18, Friday, to discuss the rules of the road for their self-driving car. The update implies that Apple could be taking steps to compete with search giant Google, which has been testing driverless cars for several months in various locations including Silicon Valley.
The Guardian reported the DMV meeting. However, Apple has not made any official announcements about a possible self-driving program, according to CNET.
California's DMV verified that it had met with Apple to discuss road test regulations for its autonomous vehicles, according to Phys.org. It stated that such meetings are common.
Based on California law, any car that does not require the control or monitoring of a human operator can test its vehicle on public roads after it has registered with the state. The law does not apply to tech such as adaptive cruise control or automated parking.
The state also requires companies to report testing information to the state of California. That includes data such as miles driven and how many times the human driver had to take control of the steering wheel.
Google has been very transparent in reporting the miles tested and number of crashes of its driverless cars. However, it could be a roadblock for Apple. The company has a history of its products' development being top secret.
Toyota also announced earlier this month that it plans to invest $50 million in artificial intelligence (AI) for vehicle tech. It will team up with the Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University to conduct research over the next five years.
Google recently stated that it has no interest in becoming an automaker. However, it is not clear if Apple has long-term plans to build smart cars.