We have longed heard the news that Apple’s production of its Apple Car is going smoothly enough and also that, the Apple car could push the Cupertino giant over the US$3 trillion market cap barrier.

However, there is still low general public trust in autonomous (self-driving) electric vehicles (EV) at the moment. One can state that safety is the best reason to trust in future automated vehicles (AV) that can boast of higher levels of technology, and hence, Apple has been considering this crucial factor for its Apple Car.

In the filing of its first patent, Apple wants to make sure that the Apple Car is highly visible, especially at night, without breaking existing headlight restrictions. The patent entitled “nighttime sensing” suggests the implementation of long-wave infrared (LWIR) and near-infrared (NIR) sensors. The sensors would be able to detect potential collision objects at a much greater range. According to sources, the possible viewing range goes from 60 m to 200 m (197 ft to 656 ft) from the front of the vehicle with this suggested system.

Reports indicate that to make the self-driving night trips safer, the Apple Car will also utilize a “waveform design for a LiDAR system with closely-spaced pulses.” LiDAR, which stands for “laser imaging, detection and ranging” or “light detection and ranging”, targets objects with a laser and then measures the time it takes for a pulse to return to the sensor.

We are also hearing the news that the self-driving Apple Car AV/EV could be launched as early as next year or in 2023. However, more conservative predictions have settled on 2024/25 and even 2028.

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