Apple is said to have made a major breakthrough in automobile projects, and its future research and development will focus on fully automatic driving technology.

According to informed sources, the technology giant Apple has made a major breakthrough in promoting its electric vehicle development project, and shifted its research and development focus to fully automatic driving technology. After Bloomberg reported the news, Apple's share price rose by 2.98% to 158.06 USD, with a market value of 2.593 trillion USD, ranking first in the world.

According to informed sources, Apple has completed most of the core work of the chip processor mounted on the first generation car, and reached a key milestone in the development of the fully automatic driving system of the car. Apple's car chip is the most advanced component developed by the company, which is mainly composed of neural network processors and can handle the artificial intelligence needed for autonomous driving.

The chip was designed by Apple's internal silicon engineering team, which is mainly responsible for designing processors for iPhone, iPad and Mac. This kind of chip will generate heat, and it may be necessary to develop a complex cooling system in the future.

Apple's internal goal is to launch its self-driving car within four years (before 2025), which is faster than the schedule of five to seven years planned by some engineers. However, the timetable has not yet been determined, and will ultimately depend on the development process of the autonomous driving system. If Apple fails to achieve its goal by then, it may delay the release or release of cars equipped with driver assistance systems.

The strategy of becoming the first.

Technology giants and automobile giants have spent many years on fully-automatic driving cars, but as far as the current results are concerned, it seems that there is still no grain. Tesla, the leader of the electric vehicle market, said that it may take several years to provide fully self-driving cars. The development team of Waymo under Alphabet also experienced a large number of resignations. Uber Technology plans to sell its autonomous driving department last year.

But Apple wants to be the first company to touch the Holy Grail. According to informed sources, Apple has used new processor designs and updated autopilot sensors on some modified cars, which have been tested in California for several years. The National Motor Vehicle Administration said that the company currently has 69 Lexus SUVs testing these technologies.

In the past few years, Apple's car team has explored two paths: assisted autonomous driving technology and fully autonomous driving technology. Under the leadership of Kevin Lynch, the new project leader, engineers are focusing on the second option.

This is also the latest transformation of Apple's car-making project, Titan Project. "Titan Plan" started from 20 14 and experienced many leadership and strategic changes. In September this year, Doug Field, who was in charge of the project, jumped to Ford, and Kevin Lynch, the head of Apple Watch, was appointed to take over the project.

Brand-new design

According to the research and development plan, Apple will carry out internal design around fully automatic driving, which means that the model may not be equipped with a steering wheel and pedals. However, Apple is discussing the emergency takeover mode of this car, so it is still possible to keep the steering wheel in the end.

According to informed sources, Apple's seat design will be similar to the prototype of Canoo, an electric vehicle startup: passengers sit along the edge of the vehicle, which is a bit like a face-to-face seat in a luxury car.

Apple also explored the in-vehicle infotainment system: a large touch screen similar to iPad will be located in the middle of the car, allowing users to interact with it during the whole driving process. This car will also be highly integrated with Apple's existing services and equipment.

"Titan Plan" expanded its army.

Apple hopes to develop such an electric car so that customers can avoid driving fatigue during long-distance travel. But for an outsider in the automotive industry like Apple, making a real car requires external cooperation. The company has discussed deals with some manufacturers and is considering producing cars in the United States first.

In recent weeks, in order to speed up the project, Apple has hired climate system experts from Volvo, managers of Daimler trucks, battery system engineers from Karma and sensor engineers from Cruise LLC, GM's self-driving car division. It is worth mentioning that not long ago, Apple also dug CJ Moore, the former head of Tesla's autopilot software.

Apple is also actively recruiting engineers to develop and test security features. A recent job advertisement said, "The special project team is looking for an excellent mechanical engineer to lead the development of mechanical systems with safety functions."

Apple is still recruiting software engineers to study the "interactive experience between human beings and autonomous technologies", indicating that the company is deeply developing the user interface of automobiles.