According to Califonia Department of Motor Vehicles’ new data, Apple has registered twenty-three more driver permits. Now, the company’s number of driver permits has risen to one-hundred and thirty-seven but the number of autonomous cars remains the same at sixty-nine vehicles.
Reportedly, Apple is developing its own autonomous passenger electric vehicle with a revolutionary battery that will deliver longer ranger and more power efficiency.
Apple increases the number of driver permits without seeking driverless permits
According to macReports, the driver permits for Cupertino tech giant’s self-driving cars program have increased over the past several months. The report also mentions that Apple has reported one more collision to the California DMV and now the total number of collisions is six.
- Sept. of 2021 – Apple had 69 cars and 114 drivers.
- Aug. of 2021 – Apple had 69 cars and 92 drivers.
- May of 2021 – Apple had 68 cars and 76 drivers.
Even with an increase in the number of driver permits by 23, Apple has still not applied for a driverless vehicle permit. But eight major auto manufacturers like Waymo LLC, Nuro INC, Autox Technologies INC, Zoox INC, Cruise LLC, and others because they attracted by the potential of self-driving technologies.
- Collision warning systems – like rear cross traffic warning beeps so you can safely back out at a grocery store. This category also includes forward collision warning – which gets you to pay attention and brake when you get too close to the car in front of you, and lane departure and blind spot warning light on your side mirrors.
- Collision intervention systems – applies the brakes for you, so you don’t hit another car or a pedestrian. This category also includes blind spot intervention, which can brake or take control of steering if there is a vehicle detected during a lane change.
- Driving control assistance – like adaptive cruise control which slows you down automatically as you approach another vehicle on the highway, and lane centering and lane keeping assistance technologies.
However, it might be years till we get to see those technologies on the road. Recently, former Tesla autopilot engineer CJ Moore joined the Apple Car team. He is known for blasting Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tall claims regarding autonomous capabilities in an interview with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. He said that:
Moore signaled in response that Musk’s statements didn’t “match engineering reality,” according to a DMV memo summarizing the conversation. For many years, Musk has said he believes Tesla is close to releasing so-called Level 5 autonomy features, which would mean the cars can operate without human intervention. The current system, known as Level 2, requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
Recently, a lawsuit brought by the estate of a Florida man who died in a 2019 crash while using Autopilot is seeking to call Moore as a witness.
