Apple's former VP of Mac hardware engineering Doug Field has returned to the tech giant's ranks after five years working at Tesla, where he oversaw production of the Model 3.
Daring Fireball writer John Gruber broke the news on Thursday after speaking to an Apple spokesperson who confirmed only that Field had returned to the company that he left in 2013.
However Gruber's contacts within Apple informed him that Field will link up with former colleague Bob Mansfield to work on Apple's self-driving car program, Project Titan.
Field began his career at Ford as a development engineer, before moving on to Segway and then to Apple, and his return is already fueling speculation that Apple's self-driving ambitions have been rejuvenated under the leadership of Mansfield.
Rather than solely developing autonomous systems for existing car manufacturers, Apple's rehiring of Field could indicate that the company still retains an interest in building its own vehicles.
When Apple began working on Project Titan in 2014, upwards of 1,000 employees were said to have been working on developing an electric vehicle at a secret location near its Cupertino headquarters.
However, internal strife and leadership issues reportedly caused Apple to transition its focus to an autonomous driving system and pursue partnerships with existing carmakers instead of building a full car. Hundreds of employees were said to have been laid off as a result.
Little is known about the inner workings of Apple's Project Titan group, but court documents filed in July indicate that as many as 5,000 people are authorized at Apple to access information about the project.
Apple has also been significantly ramping up its fleet of vehicles running self-driving sensor equipment. As of May 2018, the company has 62 vehicles out on the road using its autonomous driving software.
Apple is also working on a self-driving shuttle service called "PAIL" (an acronym for "Palo Alto to Infinite Loop"). The shuttle program will transport employees between Apple's office in Silicon Valley.
Top Rated Comments
Tim: Hey Doug, why don't you go work for Tesla for a few years. Find out everything that they know, then come back to us?
Doug: Alrighty then.
You think an Apple car would be 2028? Interesting.
All I can say is that the car is not only the funnest car I’ve bet driven, but is the fastest car on the road. After owning one for a year, I’ve never encountered another car that could beat me. Muscles cars, Porsche, you name it.
Also it drives itself, literally.
So besides the simple interior, this is the best car from the planet. Coming from an owner. Free charging for life is a sweet deal too
[doublepost=1533904343][/doublepost]Why would this be an issue if the car is driving itself? It’s not a distraction even when the car isn’t taking over since you have a main screen HUD in the drivers dashboard
(And, to keep Ive's skinny mantra away.)
The lone star in Apple's executive bin.