Apple’s self-driving car technology just looks like a simple roof rack

The evolution of technology Apple is using for its self-driving car, also known as Project Titan, has been gradual. Last we saw of Apple’s test car, it donned a myriad of sensors all over a Lexus SUV. Now, months later, Apple has noticeably improved the design of its car technology into what looks like a simple car roof rack.

Voyage co-founder MacCallister Higgins came across Apple’s latest test car and managed to snag a closeup video that gives us our best look yet at Apple’s self-driving technology. Higgins posted the video on Twitter, musing in his caption that he calls it “The Thing.” You can see it for yourselves down below.

Going to need more than 140 characters to go over 🍎's Project Titan. I call it "The Thing" pic.twitter.com/sLDJd7iYSa

— MacCallister Higgins (@macjshiggins) October 17, 2017

Apple seems to have streamlined the design we first saw in April. All the cameras and sensors are now neatly tucked away in what looks like a roof rack on top of a white Lexus RX40x SUV. This new modification makes it much easier to move the roof unit onto other cars if need be.

Higgins points out that the self-driving tech has six LIDAR units on the front and back and the main computing stack on the center of the roof.

Apple’s foray into self-driving technology started with an attempt to create its own car, but that plan was eventually scrapped in favor of developing its own self-driving software instead. In the response to Higgins’ tweet, another user posted an image of the same car he saw a few weeks earlier. It looks to be the same car Apple is testing out.

I saw one of these a few weeks ago pull up to an Apple shuttle stop-sit there for a few then drove off. pic.twitter.com/gUudZY1TIA

— idiggapple (@idiggapple) October 18, 2017

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/10/18/apples-self-driving-car-technology-just-looks-like-a-simple-roof-rack/