A Apple is already in talks with several suppliers of LiDAR sensors to produce its autonomous car, according to sources at the company who told Bloomberg. Fundamental to the development of the vehicle, LiDAR technology works with laser tracking and helps the on-board computer to maximize the reading of the environment.

According to Bloomberg, the Cupertino company is considering several integration schemes of the LiDAR to the autonomous car, including a highly customized version of the sensors. It is speculated that the Apple stick with just one vendor and look for a LiDAR technology that will be considered cutting-edge in four to five years. This would be roughly the launch window predicted by Reuters, in December.

In recent months, at least six companies that produce LiDAR technology have gone public through reverse mergers. In addition to Apple Car, the laser tracking system should be present in Waymo, Alphabet's (Google's parent company) autonomous car project, and in Cruise, a model developed by General Motors.

Behind the loss

Currently, the Apple works with a team of experts on the interior, body, drivetrain and battery in its autonomous vehicle. The system has advanced compared to years ago, but it still lags behind the competition in terms of mileage.

Last year, Cupertino's test cars drove more than 30.250 miles in California with a human driver taking the wheel every 233 miles. By comparison, Waymo drove about 1 million miles with a driver every 50 miles, while Cruise drove 1,2 million miles with a human driver every 46 miles.

In addition to LiDAR scanner suppliers, Apple has also been in talks with manufacturing partners for the self-driving car. Last month, the possibility of a deal with the Hyundai Group emerged, but negotiations were interrupted.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Bloomberg e Apple Insider