Titan Project and the new Apple car

Apple, the American giant of advanced technology, is once again the protagonist after the latest innovations launched on the market. According to some rumours, the company based in Cupertino would have started working again on the discussed and long-awaited Titan Project. 

The well-known Titan Project, born in 2014, had as its main objective the creation of the first Apple Car, the first self-driving electric car by Apple. But some problems, including dismissals and changes of director, delayed the initiative leaving the realization of the innovative and revolutionary vehicle on stand-by. 

Initially, there were just 200 employees involved, whereas today there are over a thousand workers employed in the design and construction of the first Apple car and they are all experts and researchers from the automotive world. 

According to the most positive sources, in 2024 the first car of the Titan Project will be launched, instead, according to others we will have to wait until 2025 or even a few more years because of the current global pandemic. 

To date, we do not have many information about Titan Project and we do not know how the car will look like, but the Apple team is working on a new battery, with a unique “monocell” design capable of guaranteeing greater vehicle autonomy and reducing costs. The chemistry used to realize the battery is called LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and is less likely to overheat and therefore should be a safer product. Other innovative technologies used could include motorized and silent doors and a high-tech display with augmented reality, whereas as far as the interiors, the car could be created without the steering wheel. 

Almost certainly, Apple is collaborating both with some partners who are experts in the production of vehicles and with external partners for the creation of lidar, sensors that allow autonomous cars to have a smart driving system, in this way the vehicles are able to have a three-dimensional view of the road and detect and avoid any obstacles. The latest iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro models are already equipped with lidar sensors. 

Some prominent names are working on the Titan Project, one is Doug Field who worked for five years at Tesla and coordinated Model 3 production and the other one is Steve MacManus, a former Tesla executive with in-depth knowledge in car interiors and exteriors. The revolutionary new self-driving vehicle created for consumers is likely to lead to a clash with the well-known US carmaker Tesla. 

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, commented on the Titan project and the idea of ​​the new autonomous driving software: “We are focusing on autonomous systems. It is a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It is probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on”.