Eight years after the introduction of Google Street View, rival Apple is unleashing its camera-equipped vehicles this month to map the streets of Oakland, Los Angeles and other cities in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
“Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps,” the company said in a blog post Wednesday.
Apple did not respond to requests for comment about what the vehicles will look like and if they will be marked with the Apple logo, but an automatic message from the mapping service’s email account said that “with our vehicles, we’re working on an exciting new way to explore the world around you on your iPhone, iPad, or iTouch.”
The vehicles that will take to public streets from June 15 to the end of the month will be charting territory already mapped by the well-marked cars of Google and Nokia’s Here division, the latter of which is now up for sale and being eyed by car makers and Uber. Along with Oakland and LA, Apple’s vehicles will be mapping U.S. cities including New York City, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Orlando, Detroit and Seattle. In Europe, their first stops will include Dublin, London and Birmingham.
Apple said in its announcement that it will blur faces and license plates before publishing the images its vehicles collect.
Earlier this year, media outlets confirmed that mysterious, LIDAR-equipped minivans seen driving around Contra Costa County with tinted windows belonged to Apple. Despite speculation that the van was driving itself, Apple is not one of the companies that have permits to test autonomous vehicles on public streets in California, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Above: Screenshot of Apple Maps on the iPhone, showing the present location of this reporter and Oakland City Hall.
