Author | China Software Network Wang Jinbao
Proofreading | China Software Network Zhao Manman
Alibaba, Didi, and Meituan were vying to seize the vegetable market, and there was a lot of noise. Then the rumors of Apple building cars fell to the ground, and it is not a novelty for Internet companies to cross the industry.
Recently, according to media reports, Apple plans to launch the first Apple Car in September next year, at least two years ahead of the original plan, and even the Apple Car prototype has been tested on the road in California.
In 2007, Apple used the iPhone to rewrite the history of later smartphones and mobile Internet. If Apple launches the Apple Car, what new era will it set off? How should domestic automakers respond?
Apple has never stopped building cars
As early as 2013, Apple began to enter the automotive field, when it released the "iOS in the Car" plan. After the plan was announced, Apple attached great importance to this system.
Subsequently, Apple renamed "iOS in the Car" to CarPlay's in-vehicle system in 2014. In the same year, Apple's smart car R&D project named "Titan" spread like wildfire, and from Tesla, Chrysler, Car companies such as Volkswagen are "digging people."
However, after the announcement of the "Titan" plan, there has been no further news, and the car industry has been quiet a lot. However, in recent years, Apple has been very active and has been applying for various automotive patents, covering many fields such as autonomous driving, smart car bodies, suspension systems, smart cockpits, lighting, and vehicle navigation.
Chart: Number of patents in Apple's automotive field
After all, paper cannot contain the fire. Starting from the end of 2017, Apple has changed from the usual and gradually disclosed patents: 2018 and 2019 were 31 and 32 respectively, which was the most years. In 2020, the momentum will continue. Apple has applied for 28 patents related to automobiles. Now Apple has applied for 92 patents in total.
As with the increasing number of patents, R&D personnel also account for a large proportion. Approximately 5,000 of Apple’s 135,000 employees have been allowed to obtain information about its self-driving car project. In other words, one in every 27 employees of Apple is related to the self-driving car project.
Therefore, some insiders call the development of autonomous driving technology an important strategy of Apple.
When talking about the automotive industry, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "This industry seems to be undergoing tremendous changes, and we will wait and see. I do think that the industry is at an inflection point of tremendous changes." Cook also pointed out that the future of automotive In the whole system architecture, the importance of software is increasing day by day.
The opinions of the big brothers are often in one sentence, and in today's view, they are recognized by more and more people in the industry. Through the patents filed by Apple and Cook's review of the situation, the sketch of an Apple Car has become clearer.
See the beauty of Apple Car
1. iPhone is the remote control for Apple Car
Apple started from making the iPhone, and the iPhone will surely become an organic part of Apple Car. Use your mobile phone to control the car. For example, by combining CarPlay with iPhone, CarPlay can allow users to use iPhone smarter and safer in the car, allowing users to focus on road conditions. After connecting the iPhone to the CarPlay car, users can get step-by-step navigation routes, make calls, send and receive messages, listen to music, and more.
With iOS 13, the CarPlay dashboard allows users to more easily understand the road conditions ahead. The new dashboard allows users to track maps, audio controls, and Siri suggestions in one place, allowing easy access to information such as calendar schedules, and even use the dashboard to control HomeKit accessories, such as door openers.
2. Autonomous driving takes small steps
As we all know, autonomous driving is a major trend in the automobile manufacturing industry. Google first proposed the concept of unmanned driving. In recent years, traditional car manufacturers and Internet companies have continued to develop autonomous vehicles.
In September 2013, Tesla CEO Musk revealed the news of unmanned vehicles; at the 2015 CES consumer electronics show in January this year, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and others all showed off their own unmanned vehicle technology; followed by 2 Uber also participated in the month; China’s Baidu and Wanda also announced plans to build cars.
Although, there is still a long way to go to truly realize autonomous driving. Judging from the patents filed by Apple, it should adopt a small step and fast running method to apply and improve the unmanned driving function of Apple Car.
According to Apple, the vehicle includes multiple sets of external and internal sensors. The external is responsible for generating environmental data, and the internal is responsible for user data, including visible light cameras, infrared cameras, ultrasonic sensors, depth cameras, and radars.
A patent exposed in 2018 shows that Apple can provide information to drivers or passengers behind a transparent surface by "laying" a layer of computer images on a transparent surface such as glass.
Also in 2018, Apple applied for two more patents on neural network control of autonomous vehicles. The patent specifically mentions that neural networks can be used for multitasking output, including changing lanes, observing pedestrians, motion control, and so on.
Chinasoft.com believes that the development of special applications has enriched the functions of smart cars. These are precisely where Apple’s advantages lie. Although there is still a distance from a fully driverless system, it is still in the way that Apple Car can achieve partial and conditional autonomous driving. Within the scope of ability.
3. Apple-like body design
One of the reasons why "fruit fans" love the iPhone is that in addition to the beautiful body design, there is also a user-friendly experience. Except for the Apple II in the era of small workshops, every epoch-making product of Apple has come with new interactive methods.
Mac computers use the graphical interactive interface learned from Xerox Laboratories to change the command line control mode into an interface mode; the iPod’s point-and-click touch pad, which uses the original function of the finger, turns the tedious click operation into a sliding; Multi-touch screens have revolutionized the life of all keyboard phones. Almost all smart phones are large screens; Apple Watch sticks to the user with complex vibration feedback and digital crown. With three-dimensional touch control combined with traditional knobs, Apple Watch presents Retro beauty.
Apple has made the iPhone the ultimate, and there is reason to believe that with its hardware genes for excellence, the appearance of the Apple Car may be a replica of the iPhone.
A new Apple patent on car safety reviewed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) shows that the rumored Apple Car may substantially overturn the current car design. As part of this large-scale redesign, Apple Taking into account the situation of passengers riding in a non-traditional way.
Currently, car seats are usually one-way, but Apple’s self-driving vehicle system may have all seats facing the middle of the vehicle, like a room, where everyone can talk to each other.
Another Apple patent mentions how to change the design of car seats and seat belts to make passengers more comfortable and safer when the vehicle turns sharply. By moving the seat, the rear passengers feel less force on the body, thereby reducing the distance their bodies are pulled forward in a crash, thereby reducing the risk of injury.
It can be seen that the appearance design of the Apple Car will most likely follow the minimalist design philosophy of the iPhone, integrating functionality and practicality, embodying humanity, without being too exaggerated and complicated.
Where should Huawei go
According to reports, in accordance with the practice of starting to rush for iPhone material preparation, Apple recently put forward stocking requirements to Taiwanese auto parts factories such as Heda, Bizlink, Heqin, and Futian, and included relevant companies in the first wave of supply chains. List. At present, suppliers such as Heda, Bizlink, Heqin, and Tomita are in the process of successive shipments and trial order verification. In response to the demand for Apple Car stocking, major manufacturers such as Heda and Bizlink have fully exploded orders.
Apple Car is coming, are domestic manufacturers ready?
ICT companies such as Huawei, Baidu, and Tencent rely on technological advantages to occupy the leading position in the market.
For example, based on the OceanConnect IoT platform, Huawei helps FAW Qiming and PSA realize vehicle access management and mobile travel service transformation; Tencent's automotive cloud service provides IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS solutions to car companies, and has served more than 18 mainstream vehicles Enterprises; Qiming Information Automotive business covers digital factories, smart logistics, smart network operations, digital marketing, etc., focusing on serving the FAW Group and its suppliers.
At the hardware level, the front-mounted digital instruments, large screens, T-BOX, OBU, and rear-mounted streaming media rearview mirrors, driving recorders, etc. of NavInfo, PATEO, Neusoft, Beidou Starcom, and Soling The vehicle-mounted intelligent terminal market has achieved good development.
At the software level, Tencent, Baidu, Zebra Networks (a joint venture between Alibaba and SAIC), and Huawei have deployed on-board operating systems to create an application ecosystem. For example, Huawei empowers digital cockpits through "Kirin + Hongmeng OS + HiCar", enabling smart cars and smartphones to seamlessly share the hardware, software, and application ecology of the entire industry chain.
Chinasoft.com believes that no matter how good the iPhone is, it will not be able to occupy the global market, let alone Apple cross-border car building. It can be seen from the series of patents applied by Apple Car that the importance of independent innovation of core technology is that domestic manufacturers should work harder on core technology.
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