In February 215, there were a lot of rumors that Apple would engage in electric vehicle projects.
At that time, even people in the industry broke the news that in order to form a team, Apple even poached talents from companies such as Tesla.
216? In 28, Tesla CEO Musk broke the news that a car-making project called "Titan" had been carried out inside Apple. At the same time, he also said that a large number of talents related to electric vehicles have been poached by Apple, and it is impossible to just produce mobile phones.
from? 217? Since 26, Apple's emphasis on "building cars" has shifted to "autonomous driving". Also in this year, Cook publicly acknowledged the fact that Apple is developing autonomous driving technology. At the same time, Apple announced that the patented technology related to automobiles is also increasing year by year.
recently, the "Titan" project of Apple Inc. of the United States recently submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S.? Patent? and? Trademark? Office) submitted a patent application, the content of which is to provide a safety solution for self-driving vehicles when changing lanes.
For a time, the news that Apple built a car spread all over the industry. So, what kind of car will Apple's iCar be?
From the published patented technology of Apple, it mainly involves vehicle shape design, cockpit inside the vehicle and autonomous driving technology. ?
First of all, in the vehicle design, Apple's humanity is reflected. In addition to the traditional door opening mode, the door can be opened in a sliding way in a narrow parking space or in the external environment where the vehicle is close, based on the adaptive positioning of the data of the body sensor.
(Environmental Adaptive Door)
The bumper outside the vehicle has also been changed. Different from the traditional fixed type, if there is a vehicle collision accident, the bumper of Apple car can be changed according to the collision to absorb the impact force and avoid damaging the vehicle. ?
due to the inflatable structure, the inflated bumper can be extended when the vehicle collides? 2-16mm, to absorb the impact force to avoid damage to the vehicle. At the same time, according to different objects being hit, the front end of the bumper reacts differently to reduce the impact of the collision on the passengers in the car.
(elastic bumper with deformation effect)?
In the cabin, Apple's safety improvements abound.
Different from ordinary vehicles, the interior seat layout of self-driving cars is also different. Apple redesigned the airbag, which not only has an inflatable barrier in the side window, but also installs an airbag on the top of the cockpit or in the seat belt.
Secondly, in the self-driving link, Apple has already applied for two patents on the control of self-driving cars by neural networks. This technology can be used to multitask the output, including changing lanes, observing pedestrians, motion control and so on. You know, Apple has already applied artificial intelligence to its mobile phones, tablets and other devices. ?
in a self-driving car, passengers only need to combine gestures and voice to park the car at the corresponding position. If the position accuracy is not good, you can also use the virtual joystick of iPhone for fine adjustment.
(imaginary view of Apple's car cockpit)
Besides, passengers can control the vehicle by touching or using gestures to control the induction settings on the seat belt, including the window height, seat position, multimedia player, etc. The seat belt is also equipped with a microphone and a speaker to facilitate passengers to talk, and the microphone can also monitor passengers' stress/emotional health based on voice.
Of course, for safety reasons, the sensor on the seat belt can measure the vital signs of passengers, including heart rate, body temperature, blood alcohol content and so on. The seat belt is powered by solar energy. When the vehicle is parked outdoors during the day, it is a good time for the seat belt to "charge". ?
It is noteworthy that a patent exposed in 218 shows that Apple can provide information to drivers or passengers behind transparent surfaces by "paving" a layer of computer images on transparent surfaces such as glass. ?
Simply put, Apple projects the calculated image (that is, augmented reality) on the windshield, which is convenient for drivers to check the real-time road conditions and other information. In the example given by Apple, augmented reality can be used for real-time navigation of road conditions, which is more widely used than the current HUD devices.
(apple AR? Concept map of windshield)
At the same time, the co-pilot can watch streaming video on the windshield, and the driver can use it? Facetime? Video call. The former is completed by installing a screen in most vehicles, while the latter does not require drivers to use mobile phones in the car, which is the best proof that Apple wants to use it instead of the screen. ?
It is worth mentioning that Titan's new patented components will be able to give consideration to aerodynamics while ensuring the driver's comfort to the greatest extent, and at the same time, it can also meet the needs of self-driving vehicles to drive safely and change lanes normally in a wider range. By then, Tesla will have a strong competitor. ?
Finally:
It's not a matter of a year or two for Apple to build a car. As one of the companies with the highest market value in the world, the automobile field may be a bigger and more potential consumer market than mobile phones. At the same time, driverless car technology is also the general direction of future car development, and Apple certainly does not want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
maybe in the near future, we will be able to see the true face of iCar.
This article comes from the author of Chejia, car home, and does not represent car home's standpoint.