Apple is looking to rival Google in the self-driving car field through its own Project Titan.
According to an internal document from Apple obtained by The Guardian, the Cupertino-based firm is currently building its own driverless car. There are no official details yet regarding the exact feature of the company's smart car but based on the document, Apple is ready to subject it to driving tests.
As noted by the media outlet, Apple is currently looking for a proper location and facility to house the testing procedures for Project Titan. One of those is the GoMentum Station in San Francisco.
Within driving distance from Apple's Silicon Valley headquarters, the GoMentum Station was a former naval weapons base used during World War 2.
At 2,100 acres, the facility can provide Apple with the appropriate amount of space to test a fleet of autonomous vehicles.
According to Randy Iwasaki, an executive of GoMentum Station's owner Contra Costa Transportation Authority, nothing has been finalized yet regarding the deal between Apple and the facility. But, the executive noted that the tech giant is very interested in acquiring the large property for a confidential project.
"We had to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Apple," he said according to The Guardian. "We can't tell you anything other than they've come in and they're interested."
"GoMentum Station is 40 miles north of Silicon Valley," Iwasaki added. "And there's not a lot of vacant space in the Valley if you want to do testing in a secure location. We're close enough that companies can bring their vehicles north, store them in the Concord area and bring their software and hardware engineers up."
Since Project Titan will still have to undergo testing, it might take some time before the public gets to see a smart car from Apple cruising the streets. But, if Apple wants to dominate the driverless car industry, it should aim to produce a model that could surpass the autonomous vehicles unveiled by Google, Nissan, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and TESLA, according to Information Week.
As to what the public can expect to see in Project Titan, rumors suggest that it has something to do with equipping a car with a special head-up display. With this piece of tech, passengers will be able to display online-based information through the car's windshield, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
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