Apple has been secretly working on its own self-driving car program for years, but during that time it hasn’t shared much information about the project.
Recently, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has confirmed to Mac Reports that Apple has 55 vehicles on the road with 83 drivers. These cars are under a DMV permit that lets the company test autonomous vehicles in the state.
According to Mac Reports, Apple started off testing three cars in April 2017. By March of this year, the company had 45 cars on the road.
Since Apple has 55 cars undergoing testing right now, that makes it the second largest self-driving fleet in California. Leading the pack is GM with 104 vehicles, while Waymo is in third place with 51 cars.
Some other notable entries are Tesla with 39 vehicles and Toyota Research Institute with 11.
The California DMV also told Mac Reports that Apple has not applied for a completely driverless testing permit, which the DMV started issuing in April.
Apple has published a few papers on how AI could be used to help vehicles make quick decisions and how LIDAR can detect pedestrians.
Some analysts have suggested that the company will either embrace or abandon self-driving technology within the next few years. This news makes it seem likely Apple will embrace it.
Image credit: Twitter user @idiggapple
Source: Mac Reports
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