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Apple-leased vehicles with mapping equipment on top appear, Street View rival in the works?

By Daniel Petrov

Published: Feb 04, 2015, 8:17 AM

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Apple

Weird-looking vans with a LiDAR attached to the roof have been popping up in the streets of Bay Area, and it might have something to do with a secretive Apple project. San Francisco's CBS affiliate KPIX, which made the report, has probed the California DMV, and has received a confirmation that at least the blue Dodge Caravan you see in the picture, has been leased to Apple.

Some speculate that this is Apple's foray in autonomous vehicles that are all the rage these days, including attempts from Google and Uber, as LiDAR is a laser system that makes detailed mapping easier, but can also be an element in the area-sensing technology of self-driving cars, too. The mapping aspect, however, is much more probable, as Apple has given no indications so far that it plans to enter the car-making business, but it has had teething issues with its Maps service.

Apple Maps has been steadily improving, and is far from the launch product now, yet Google has the upper hand with its great Maps software, and especially with the unique Street View service. With a nearly $180 billion cash hoard, it wouldn't be nerve-racking for Apple to do what Google did - equip a bunch of cars across the globe with a homebrew high-res mapping system, and in a year or two start offering something similar to Street View within its own Apple Maps application.

source: ClaycordNews via AppleInsider

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.