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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Tech News > Mystery vans could be tied to Apple Maps or self-driving car projects

Mystery vans could be tied to Apple Maps or self-driving car projects
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NewsPoster
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Feb 4, 2015, 11:35 AM
 
Unusual minivans -- equipped with what are believed to be cameras and LiDAR sensors -- have been spotted driving around California's Bay Area in recent weeks, reports say. The vehicles each have an X-shaped frame mounted to a luggage rack; the cameras are situated on four corners. Facing forward and back are spinning cylinders, similar to the LiDAR systems used on Google's self-driving car prototypes. Investigation by CBS affliate KPIX has discovered that a blue Dodge Caravan with the equipment is under lease to Apple.

This has fueled speculation that Apple is at work on self-driving cars of its own; but if so, the project is still in the earliest phases, since KPIX notes that the company hasn't been issued a testing permit. The company could conceivably be experimenting with sensor and mapping systems, while still having a driver in control.

Another possibility, though, is that Apple is simply looking to further improve the Maps apps for iOS and OS X by collecting more accurate street-level data, or even implementing first-person views similar to those in Google Street View. Google's app is still popular on iOS as well as Android, partly because of Street Views and transit data.

( Last edited by NewsPoster; Feb 5, 2015 at 03:37 AM. )
     
coffeetime
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Feb 4, 2015, 01:21 PM
 
Let's just hope the van doesn't get lost using Apple Maps. Expecting lots of blunders from Apple Street View maps.
     
Charles Martin
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Feb 4, 2015, 01:28 PM
 
Hey, thanks for that post from 2012. You've obviously not used the program since then, since in point of fact Apple Maps has been found to be more accurate than Google Maps:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/07/apple-maps-directions-beat-google-maps-waze-in-pundits-head-to-head-test

http://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-maps-worldview-is-now-better-than-google-maps/
Charles Martin
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coffeetime
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Feb 4, 2015, 01:32 PM
 
Self-driving car using Apple Maps? Better get yourself a life-jacket.
     
slboett
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Feb 4, 2015, 01:38 PM
 
Yeah, the  Maps jokes are obviously made by Samsung guys as Maps is now at least as good as Google.
     
andrewbw
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Feb 4, 2015, 02:25 PM
 
I'm not sure which is more embarrassing: The troll wasting their time here, or an "editor" misusing the phrase "point of fact."
I'm not wearing any pants.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Feb 4, 2015, 02:45 PM
 
Curious how you consider it a misuse, since afaict, it is perfectly cromulent: Apple has been found more reliable than Google in a specific study. Fact.
     
coffeetime
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Feb 5, 2015, 12:01 AM
 
Sorry, Apple Maps is still not reliable from my current experience (not from an article source). I use Google and Waze and they yields the same spot but not Apple (2 blocks off in a downtown New Haven, CT address). I do check and test Apple Maps once a while to see their progress.
     
Charles Martin
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Feb 5, 2015, 04:01 AM
 
I can only tell you that I travel a lot (to be fair, nearly always to big cities) and Apple Maps has never let me down, whereas Google Maps has. Have you been reporting the issues you've found?
Charles Martin
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coffeetime
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Feb 5, 2015, 01:29 PM
 
I did report on issues of other areas but not yet on this one.
     
writetrev
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Mar 3, 2015, 12:38 PM
 
Spotted one of the apple vans in Arizona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-DlMMgM2yc
     
   
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