Apple has plans to build its own self-driving car and a dedicated team is assigned for this specific purpose, which the tech giant dubbed as Project Titan. The program is mostly shrouded in secrecy but the latest update now indicates the team has a new boss, and he is the same man responsible for Siri.
The new man in charge is John Giannandrea and by function, he also heads Apple's artificial intelligence department. Giannandrea is the point man for the company's ongoing efforts to develop products and services that will be governed by machine learning and AI principles.
Giannandrea reports directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook, and that is according to The Verge, so his appointment as the lead for Project Titan somehow implies that the iPhone maker is dead-serious about working to achieve autonomous driving.
It goes without saying that Apple's self-driving program is intended to rival Tesla, whose Autopilot and Full Self-Driving services are now in the beta testing stage. How exactly Project Titan is going along is a big question mark but Giannandrea now calling the shots should tell that Apple is pretty ambitious on its intentions.
The Siri boss has an impressive resume. Before working with Apple, he managed the search and AI divisions of Google and his expertise should play a crucial role when the time comes that Apple is ready to unveil its version of a smart vehicle that likely will be battery-powered.
The project is believed to have gained further traction when Apple purchased the startup Drive.ai in June 2019. This self-driving firm will be the foundation of the company's thrust to develop software that will run a futuristic Apple Car.
It is expected that the vehicle will be built in collaboration with automakers such as Volkswagen, which will be tasked to provide the hardware for the smart vehicles.
CNET reported that while Giannandrea is now listed as the overall chief of Project Titan, the daily grind will still be under Doug Field. The latter previously worked with Tesla and is deemed the best man to realize Apple's autonomous driving aspirations.
It should be noted that the company's self-driving program was originally geared to challenge Tesla directly. But Apple belatedly realized that focusing on developing its own self-driving technology is the more realistic goal. And the shift will allow the company to unveil a completed product at the soonest possible time.
It is likely that through its AI-powered driving technology, Apple is targeting to make big headway in the software side of the growing electric vehicle market. A smart choice for now as the company is fully aware that Tesla's dominance of the segment is hard to disrupt for now.
