According to a new filing from the California Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV, Apple Car’s self-driving technology has gone almost 21,000 kilometers or 13,000 miles in 2024. In an attempt to create self-driving cars, Cupertino giant hires Tesla Autopilot Software Director.
Apple Car’s Self-Driving Tech
The secretive Apple automobile project has been rumored for years. In fact, there have been actual facts which confirmed its existence, such as the leadership shakeup from its rumored executives and reported partners. Nonetheless, the iPhone maker has yet to validate the existence of its car initiative.
However, a document uncovered by Jalopnik this time round further corroborates that Apple has been developing autonomous vehicle technology for its car project.
According to the California DMV, firms testing their self-driving systems in the state must keep track of how many kilometers they’ve been driven.
It’s worth noting that other electric vehicle companies, like Waymo and Cruise, have also applied for autonomous vehicle testing.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s self-driving technology has yet to be approved by the California Department of Motor Vehicles in 2024.
On the other hand, even though Apple Car’s self-driving tech has yet to be officially announced, it disclosed how many kilometers it has already run.
The filing of Apple Car revealed that the firm’s self-driving technology has already driven more than 20,921 kilometers in one year.
Apple Car Testing Fleet
In addition, the California DMV’s Disengagement Report revealed the number of automobiles that Apple has licensed for testing its autonomous driving capability.
The Cupertino company’s testing fleet consists of 37 cars in all. Last year, only 35 of them were involved in the 22,000-kilometer testing. According to a recent Gizmodo report , two were excluded from the tests for undisclosed reasons.
Furthermore, the lawsuit cites a filing from Apple that states the company was forced to take over its self-driving technology in several situations.
In 662 incidents, drivers of Apple had to take control of the cars. As a result, the average number of disengagements per 32 kilometers is one.
Tesla also revealed some of the other problems their prototype drivers have encountered with self-driving technology.
In certain cases, the automated driving function failed to adhere to driving etiquette norms. Not to mention that the system did not obey traffic signals on a few occasions.