February 4, 2015 10:01 AM EST
P hotos of a mysterious minivan with roof-mounted cameras in Concord, Calif., confirmed to be leased to Apple, were posted online Tuesday, raising suspicions that Apple might be testing its own driverless car, CBS reported.
The Wildest Concept Cars of 2014 Anybody can take Chevy's Chaparral 2x Vision concept car for a spin — anybody with Gran Turismo 6 for the Sony PlayStation, anyway, where the car is a playable download. Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/Corbis One day, we'll all finally get to ride those light-cycles from Tron . For now, there's Toyota's FV2 concept car. Joe Klamar—AFP/Getty Images Doors? Where you're going in the Smart Brabus FourJoy concept car, you don't need doors. Bloomberg/Getty Images The pickup truck hasn't really changed much in decades — until Volkswagen took it on with this Tristar concept car, which takes a pickup and makes it super offroad-friendly. Fabian Bimmer—Reuters/Corbis Nissan's 3-seat electric BladeGlider concept car might actually make it to production, pretty rare for a concept car this wild. If a Jedi Knight drove a car, it would be the BladeGlider. Gene Blevins—LA DailyNews/Corbis Toyota hasn't said much about its high-riding C-HR Concept crossover, but we know that it's purple. Very purple. Benoit Tessier—Reuters/Corbis Maserati says its Alfieri concept car represents "the future of Maserati design." Too bad most of us can't conceptualize being able to afford a Maserati any time soon. Pierre Albouy—AFP/Getty Images Mercedes-Benz's G-Code concept SUV comes covered in what the company calls "multi-voltaic silver" paint that's supposed to act like one big solar cell. It's all very green — err, "multi-voltaic silver." Kim Kyung-Hoon—Reuters/Corbis It somehow doesn't feel like this car, designed by Russian artist Gosha Ostretsov, will fly off the shelves. But that's okay, because it's more art exhibit than commercial vehicle. Smityuk Yuri—ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis Google has taken the spotlight with public tests of its driverless car prototypes, while Uber’s recent investment in robotics has sparked rumors of driverless taxis. Several top carmakers in the U.S. including Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla also showed off plans for autonomous vehicle technology last month at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to The Verge , the cameras appear to be LIDAR cameras (Light Detection and Ranging System), the same cameras Google uses to power its driverless cars.
The presence of roof-mounted cameras also has raised questions about whether Apple Maps wants to add on a street view function, similar to that of Google Maps.
Apple has declined to comment on the speculation.
See How the Apple Watch Might Look if Reimagined by Fashion's Top Designers An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Chanel. Finz Lo—Highsnobiety An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Alexander Wang. Finz Lo—Highsnobiety An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Maison Martin Margiela. Finz Lo—Highsnobiety An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Givenchy. Finz Lo—Highsnobiety An artist's concept of an Apple Watch by Louis Vuitton. Finz Lo—Highsnobiety [CBS ]
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