Apple is reportedly having 200 people test driving its autonomous vehicles in apparent efforts to ramp up the concept from prototype to full-scale production.

This comes as the race for driverless cars goes up a gear, with competitors like Zoox already trialling its robotaxis on public roads.

The company’s Project Titan that deals with its autonomous vehicles has come back from nearly being scrapped, to now increasing its number of test drivers to 201, according to Data from the California DMV.

This increase builds on the 51 additional testers added in 2022 with five new testers in 2023. The size of the company’s self-driving fleet, however, hasn’t changed much since 2021, which currently has a fleet of 67 vehicles.[1]

Figure 1. Apple has over 200 people testing self-driving cars

Apple has over 200 people testing self-driving cars is shown in figure 1. Overall, Apple’s vehicles have been involved in some form of “collision” 16 times so far. Self-driving vehicles from Waymo and Cruise have been involved in 227 and 203 collisions, respectively.

Before we give too much credit to Apple for its relative safety record, it’s worth noting the company has a couple of hundred fewer cars on the road than both competitors. Waymo has 265 vehicles while Cruise has 301.[2]

In California, every driver involved in the testing of autonomous technology has to be registered. Every vehicle involved in testing has to be registered as well with the DMV and has to have a special permit to drive on public roads.

Thanks to those regulations, we now know that Apple’s autonomous driving dream has reached impressive size. The company increased the number of test drivers to 201 while its fleet of test vehicles remains at 67.

It is clear that over the years Project Titan evolved into three separate programs. While the autonomous car has been on and off the drawing board many times over, autonomous driving technology took its own course. Apple can easily leverage its expertise in hardware and software to develop advanced self-driving tech and it aims to achieve it before its rivals.[3]

Other data included in the report comes from other manufacturers and their test bodies. There is also a list of driverless testers, which Apple is not a part of.

Apple registered one collision during the first quarter of 2023, but it was a minor one. The vehicle's tire and rim made contact with a curb, and authorities were not involved.

Apple has reported 16 total collisions in California since registering.

The data shows Apple's continued commitment to testing self-driving tools for cars. It is registered alongside other manufacturers like Mercedes, Waymo, Tesla, Nvidia, and Zoox.

Years of rumors, patents, and not-so-secret test facilities suggest an Apple Car could be on the way. However, recent rumors state that Apple has stopped prioritizing autonomous driving and will include a steering wheel.[4]

References:

1. https://www.iotinsider.com/news/apple-increase-self-driving-car-testers-to-200/
2. https://www.iottechnews.com/news/2023/mar/23/apple-over-200-people-testing-self-driving-cars/
3. https://www.arenaev.com/apple_has_over_200_drivers_testing_its_selfdriving_technology-news-1584.php
4. https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/03/22/apple-self-driving-test-program-grows-to-over-200-drivers

Cite this article:

Gokula Nandhini K (2023), Apple has over 200 people testing self-driving cars, Anatechmaz, pp.266