Apple takes its autonomous technology out for a spin aboard a Lexus RX with LIDAR sensors

Apple has returned to the fray with its autonomous vehicle development programme called “Project Titan”. After a period without news about the project, MacCallister Higgins, co-founder of Voyage (an autonomous car startup), published a few days ago the prototype of an Apple vehicle loaded with sensors, radars and cameras on the streets of California.

According to documents submitted to the California Department of Motor Vehicles earlier this year, Apple may currently be testing its autonomous driving system on three LEXUS R.

Higgins, who is also a specialist in driverless vehicles, joked about the appearance of the sensors and cameras arranged around the car and wrote on Twitter that the car should be called “The Thing”. Unlike Apple’s previous car prototypes, this model has at least six large LiDAR sensors arranged around the vehicle.

The prototype shown in the image is similar to that used by other autonomous vehicle developers but with sensors that are much larger.

Most brands have their systems in the boot, but Apple’s vehicle has its technology installed on the roof. A follower of Voyage’s co-founder replied to the tweet sharing a photo of a similar van with the same technology also on the upper part.

A few months ago, the news agency Bloomberg confirmed that Apple was testing a Lexus RX with the 64-channel, 360-degree 3D LiDAR sensor on the streets of California. Although the company denied the imminent development of an autonomous car, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said at a conference that the company is researching driverless vehicle technology but that nothing has been decided yet.