Drive AI Van
Rumors that Apple is working on some sort of electric, autonomous car under the code name Project Titan have been circulating for years now. The most obvious sign that the project is still alive and kicking is the confirmation that Apple has acquired the self-driving vehicle company Drive.ai.
Drive.ai operates a fleet of self-driving, on-demand ride-hailing van service in Arlington, Texas. The vans are modified versions of the Nissan NV200 and operate in a limited area near popular attractions and sports arenas. People who want a ride, which doesn't cost anything, can use the Drive.ai mobile app or a kiosk located in the service area.
According to The Verge, Drive.ai was going to announce massive layoffs and end operations on Friday. Exactly which parts of the company remain with the shift to Apple's ownership, and what happens to its 90 employees, is not yet clear.
Apple's Project Titan has been through many ups and downs over the past few years. 9to5Mac notes that 200 employees were dismissed from the project in 2018, but Apple also hired a former Tesla electric powertrain expert in the same year.
One way that Drive.ai is setting itself apart from other autonomous vehicle testing companies is the way that its vehicles communicate with nearby pedestrians or bikers. The cars have display screens on the outside, one on all four sides that point towards where people might be. When stopped at an intersection, the screens can display messages that say things like, "Waiting for you" at someone waiting on the side of the road or "Pedestrian Crossing" on its rear screen to tell a driver in a car behind the Drive.ai car that something is happening that the rear driver can't see.
The screen are 22.5 by 7.5 inches, according to WIRED, and the messages have gone through a number of changes. The "Waiting for you" message used to say "Waiting for you to cross" and then just "Waiting," for example.
Drive.ai used to run a fleet of vehicles in Frisco, Texas before focusing solely on Arlington.
