Apple's self-driving car technology was recently involved in its first accident, but unlike recent reports on driverless vehicle mishaps, this one was the fault of a human.
Apple is currently busy with its preparations for the highly anticipated Sept. 12 event, where the company is expected to unveil this year's new iPhones. Apple, however, has a lot of projects outside of the limelight, one of which is its once ambitious Project Titan.
Apple Self-Driving Car Involved In Accident
Apple has been making slow strides in its driverless car project, with milestones such as its test fleet expansion to 27 Lexus SUVs early this year coming too few and far in between.
Apple's self-driving car recently managed another milestone, but it might not be the kind that the company wants for the project.
One of Apple's self-driving Lexus SUVs was involved in an accident on Aug. 24, according to a report by California's Department of Motor Vehicles. The modified vehicle was traveling at just 1 mile per hour while merging into an expressway in Sunnyvale when Nissan Leaf, moving at 15 miles per hour, rear-ended the self-driving SUV.
Both vehicles sustained damage in the accident, but the passengers did not suffer any injuries. The accident was apparently attributed to the Nissan Leaf's human driver, which is interesting because a previous Consumer Affairs report claimed that most self-driving car accidents involve a human driver crashing into the back of a slow-moving or stationary driverless vehicle.
One suggestion on why this is the case, from Carnegie Mellon professor and self-driving technology consultant Phil Koopman, was that driverless cars do not move the same way as cars with human drivers. Apple, and other companies working on self-driving cars, may have to take this into consideration in their designs.
The Ambitious Apple Project Titan
Project Titan remains under wraps, despite many reports on Apple's self-driving car team. The once ambitious project initially looked to create its own driverless vehicles, but the latest update was that the technology will be used in partnership with Volkswagen to provide self-driving shuttles to Apple employees.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, said last month that the company is planning to launch two breakthrough products over the next several years. Apple is set to roll out augmented reality glasses in 2020, followed by the Apple Car between 2023 and 2025.
According to Kuo, the Apple Car may introduce major changes to the automobile industry. However, it remains to be seen what form the Apple Car will take upon its alleged launch a few years from now.
