Apple 'Project Titan' Self-Driving Car News: Voyage Co-Founder Reveals Test on Converted Lexus
Voyage co-founder reveals that Apple made use of a Lexus SUV model for their "Project Titan" of self-driving car technology.
MacCallister Higgins shared a short clip on Twitter last Tuesday of the Apple car used for their "Project Titan." Although the clip only revealed the top part of the car, it revealed the most important detail of Apple's "Project Titan."
The video showed a white Lexus SUV carrying multiple sensors and autonomous hardware on its roof.
"Going to need more than 140 characters to go over (Apple's) Project Titan. I call it 'The Thing,'" Higgins' post reads.
Aside from Higgins, someone else had spotted Apple's converted Lexus SUV model roaming around. Twitter user @idigapple shared on social media that he saw the car at an Apple stop.
"I saw one of these a few weeks ago pull up to an Apple shuttle stop-sit there for a few then drove off," said the witness.
Higgins had a few observations about Apple's self-driving technology, Fortune confirmed.
Being a co-founder of a self-driving car startup company himself, Higgins shared that Apple's autonomous systems are unusually placed on the roof of the car, while most self-driving test cars carry the load in their trunks.
Aside from that, Higgins identified that the Apple test car was using six LiDARS for both the front and back. LiDARS is a camera that sees depth through a six light range and detection radar units. This technology is recognized as a significant factor in developing self-driving cars for mass production.
Tech Crunch notes that Apple's design of the converted Lexus highlights the convenience of a plug-and-play system, given that they only added the technology to the car without too many alterations.
Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) first hinted that they were working on autonomous systems for cars last June during an interview with Bloomberg.