Apple's Self-Driving Car: Sudden Turn And Dead End?

Project Titan. Apple's internal codeword. For their electric vehicle (EV) initiative. Later renamed T172.

Commissioned in 2014. Shelved in 2024. Project staff called it the USD 10 billion "Titanic disaster".

Elon Musk was right. When he had quipped back in 2015. "Apple's running out of ways to spend money".

Titan was perhaps the costliest project in Apple's history. And easily the most ambitious.

Why did they slam the brakes? And come to a dead halt?

The Project: Terribly Hush-Hush?

Parked under Apple's Special Projects Group (SPG). Housed in an offsite research lab. In a nondescript office building in Sunnyvale. Four miles from Apple's Corporate HQ in Cupertino.

Working anonymously. Even as the world heard noises from under the hood. From time to time.

The Mission: Too Disruptive?

To build a game-changing vehicle. The iPhone's automotive sibling. The "ultimate mobile device".

Except this one would have four wheels. And invent a best-in-class travel experience.

Only Apple had the credibility. To integrate hardware, software and services.

They already had Apple CarPlay and Apple Maps to their name.

Could they get this mega show on the road?

The Original Concept: Science Fiction?

An electric sports utility vehicle (SUV). Or minivan. That Apple would design from scratch.

No steering wheel. No pedals.

Fully self-driving. No human intervention.

Voice-controlled navigation. Hey Siri!

Infotainment center. With iPad-like touchscreen display. And iOS-like user interface.

Limousine-style luxury interior. With four passenger seats along the sides. Facing each other. Like in a lounge.?Not facing the road.

But Apple had to be Apple. They tossed around a bunch of ideas. Some totally out of the box.

Silent motorised doors.

Cutting-edge facial recognition. To unlock the car.

A sunroof made of a special polymer material. To shield passengers from the blazing sun.

Windows with adjustable tints. Which Apple actually patented in Apr 2020.

Augmented-reality or holographic displays. With "retina-grade" resolution. Embedded in windows. And in the windshield.

Last but not least ... hold your breath ... spherical trackball wheels!

Even James Bond would've blushed.

But Apple realised these futuristic goodies weren't workable under USD 100,000. Their target pricepoint.

Special Processor: Chip Off The Old Block?

By Nov 2021, Apple’s Silicon Engineering Group had customised their most sophisticated autopilot chip. Made of neural processors. That could sustain heavy-duty AI. For self-driving.

Rumours had it TSMC would manufacture the final chip.

Breakthrough Battery Tech: Fully Charged Up?

In 2015, Apple added a battery lab and machine shop to its SPG facility. By Dec 2020, they had finalised a blueprint for a "next-level" battery pack.

A unique, proprietary "mono-cell" design. Combining single cells. No pouches. No modules. Freeing up space to pack active material more densely. Enabling a longer driving range. And a lower cost. Perfect for a consumer car.

Using lithium ferrophosphate (LFP). Less likely to overheat. Safer than other lithium ion batteries. And cheaper than cobalt or nickel batteries.

Hearsay: Apple had shortlisted BYD and CATL to make the final battery.

LiDAR Sensors: Seeing The World In 3D?

Self-driving called for complex LiDAR?sensors. To give the car a stereoscopic view of the road. Multiple sensors to scan different distances.

By Nov 2017, Apple researchers had developed new software. To detect pedestrians, cyclists and obstacles better. And to avoid bumping into them.

In Oct 2019, though, they decided to qualify external LiDAR suppliers.

Apple-Manufactured To Apple-Branded: Reinventing The Wheel?

Apple set out building their car themselves. They had planned to put up a factory in Southern US.

But they ran into roadblocks along the way. Autonomous driving needed robust?real-time software. And uncompromising safety functions. For regulatory compliance.

Building even basic parts of a car wasn't simple. As project members soon discovered.

Because a car was not a smartphone. Or a MP3 player.

So they shifted gears. To design an Apple-branded car in-house. But to partner with one or more manufacturers. Who had the know-how to assemble it.

Which is what they reached out to eligible partners for. At first.

Later, they called upon them to supply structural elements. Like chassis and wheels.

Finally, Apple expected partners to retrofit their own car models. With Apple's software and sensors.

All the while, Apple insisted on owning or controlling every element. Design. Component choices. User experience. Platform services. Data. And the customer relationship.

Which, of course, didn't sit well with major brands. Icons in their own right. Mercedes-Benz. BMW. Lexus. And McLaren. Who were used to being in the driver's seat.

Between 2015 and 2021, Apple reportedly held talks with various prospective partners.

With BMW. Seeing their compact i3 hatchback.

With Hyundai. Seeing their Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

With Canoo. Kia. LG. Magna Steyr. And Nissan.

None of these worked out.

What did happen, though, was an anticlimax of sorts ...

Car To Shuttle Bus?

In Aug 2017, Apple managed to convince Volkswagen to convert a few of their T6 Transporter vans. Into self-driving shuttle buses. To ferry employees from Apple Park to Apple Campus One. Palo Alto to Infinite Loop (PAIL). And back.

Car To Software System To Car: U-Turn After U-Turn?

Oct 2016 was the first time Apple changed their mind.

From building a physical car. To developing an autonomous driving system instead.

Focussing on software. As the core underlying technology.

Which they would integrate into third-party cars. Rather than selling their own branded car.

Apple would specify a reference?operating system for automakers. For an immersive in-car experience. And new levels of security. Through electronic sensors and cameras.

Apple would be the centre of the ecosystem.

This stayed as Project Titan's redefined scope. Until Dec 2020.

When Apple went back. To their earlier idea of manufacturing a car. Powered by latest advances in their processor, battery and sensor technology.

Compatible with the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard. So drivers could charge it rapidly at public stations.

Would it be a mass-market car? Or would they lease it out to ride-sharing fleets?

In 2023 alone, Apple test-drove over 450,000 miles. Mostly using Lexus SUVs rented from Hertz. Registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Fitted with their prototype system. Gathering petabytes of data on traffic patterns.

And yet, Apple failed to move into top gear.

Level 5 To Level 4 To Level 2+: Running Into Reality?

In late 2022, Apple revised its specifications.

From the original SAE Level 5. Full automation. Self-driving everywhere.

To Level 4. High automation. Self-driving only on defined routes. And on approved highway stretches.

Which meant it would need a steering wheel. And pedals.

Apple even envisioned a remote command centre. To control the car's emergency takeover.

In Jan 2024, Apple downgraded its Advanced Driver-Assisted System (ADAS) features yet again.

This time to Level 2+ technology. Partial automation. No longer so autonomous.

The system would steer, brake and accelerate. With automatic lane centering and cruise control. But its driver would have to stay attentive at all times. To retake control within 10 seconds after the system's request.

Would Apple have to stay in their lane after all?

Ever-Slipping Timelines

For the commercial launch. 2019. 2021. 2024. 2025. 2026. Eventually 2028.

The long ride had become a drag.

The Top Brass. They Came. They Went

Many industry stalwarts were part of Project Titan. Some internal. Some poached. From the cream of competitors and startups. Purely in alphabetical order: Bob Mansfield. Chris Porritt. CJ Moore. Doug Betts. Doug Field. Jeff Williams. Johann Jungwirth. John Giannandrea. Jonathan Ive. Kevin Lynch. Marc Newson. Paul Furgale. Steve Zadesky.?Ulrich Kranz. Et al.

The Rank And File: Hired. Fired. Reassigned

Apple's need for a diverse project team changed with the weather. Much like the project charter itself.?

Automotive engineers. Vehicle dynamics scientists. Robotics specialists. Battery technology experts. Industrial designers. Software programmers.

Started as a couple of hundreds. Grew to 600 by 2015. Hundreds got laid off in Oct 2016.

Became 5,000 by Apr 2018. 200 were let go again in 2019.

On Feb 27, 2024, Apple transferred the remaining?2000 employees to their Generative AI Division.

Calling off their decade-old Project Titan. At last.

And the stock market heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Until Apple's next adventure. Take care! :)

#Apple #SelfDriving #ElectricCar #ProjectTitan #Technology