Tim Cook Says Apple is 'Very Focused on Autonomous Systems'

It's no secret that Apple is working on an autonomous driving system, thanks to statements from Apple CEO Tim Cook, information published by the DMV, and the presence of Apple's autonomous test vehicles on the road, but during today's earnings call, Cook re-emphasized Apple's deep interest in the technology, and he even hinted Apple's work on autonomy could be used for more than vehicles.

"In terms of autonomous systems, what we've said is that we are very focused on autonomous systems from a core technology point of view," Cook said. "We do have a large project going, and we're making a big investment in this from our point of view."

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Cook went on to call autonomy "the mother of all AI projects," a statement he's shared before in an interview with Bloomberg. Cook also hinted that Apple has other autonomous projects in the works beyond a car system.

"Autonomous systems can be used in a variety of ways -- a vehicle is only one, but there are many different areas of it. And I don't want to go any further with that," he said.

Apple has presumably been working on an autonomous driving system since 2014, when rumors of its efforts to create an electric vehicle first surfaced. Apple has now moved away from creating a full vehicle and is said to be focusing on self-driving technology instead.

Since April, Apple has been testing its autonomous driving system in several Lexus RX450h SUVs, which can be spotted on the roads around its Cupertino headquarters.

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Top Rated Comments

826317 Avatar
100 months ago
Do you guys not realise that Apple have a different department working on autonomy from the iPhone, it's not like resources are shifted away from the iPhone or the Mac
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
filmantopia Avatar
100 months ago
Apple's going and changing the world again.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgentAnonymous Avatar
100 months ago
Apple is taking on an autonomous car project entirely in the background, something completely out of their realm, and bigots who hate his social views still have the gall to constantly slander him and pretend he doesn't try to innovate.

Tim Cook is doing great as far as I'm concerned. None of the problems with Apple are problems that weren't also around back when Steve Jobs was CEO.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jakexb Avatar
100 months ago
I have no idea what he's getting at, but I am fascinated. Automation that isn't just about vehicles.

I honestly don't know what it could be, but it is an incredibly Apple-like thing to invest in an underlying technology that other people can build on top of. AutonomyKit.

Also, you guys are exhausting sometimes. Yes, I know you want them to work on the Mac. Point made. But are we not allowed to talk about anything else the world's most profitable company is doing?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
100 months ago
House robots.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
X--X Avatar
100 months ago

Cook went on to call autonomy "the mother of all AI projects...
It certainly sounds dramatic, or maybe NOT

Apple's new headquarters:
Cook told Fortune that Apple Park, the company's long-awaited space-ship like headquarters, was the "mother of all products."

Enterprise technology:
"Enterprise is like the mother of all opportunities," Cook told Bloomberg Businessweek ('https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-06-15/apple-s-tim-cook-on-donald-trump-the-homepod-and-the-legacy-of-steve-jobs') this month.

iOS 10:
At WWDC 2016 ('https://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/13/apple-wwdc-latest-news-for-worldwide-developers-conference.html'), Cook called iOS 10 the "mother of all releases."

2012:
Cook told investors in 2013 that 2012 was the "mother of all years," The Los Angeles Times ('http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/27/business/la-fi-tn-apple-ceo-tim-cook-2012-20130227') reports.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/25/apple-self-driving-cars-ceo-tim-cooks-mother-of-all.html
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)