Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180082135) for a vehicle video system. Images would be obtained using cameras mounted on a vehicle, and at least a portion of the obtained images are displayed on a screen.
The motion of the vehicle can then be controlled such that it moves toward a physical destination selected from images obtained using cameras mounted on a vehicle. In the patent filing, Apple notes that utomated control systems for vehicles may navigate to a general area.
For example, automated control systems may navigate to a general area as designated by a point on a map. However, Apple says that navigation using information such as maps isn’t well-suited to designating a destination at a very specific location, such as the location of an entry door to a building or a place where a person is standing. It feels it has a solution.
Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.
As the Sellers Research Group (that’s me) has long said, unlike some others, I don’t think that Apple will actually build its own automobiles, but will work with other manufactures to implement technologies such as enhanced CarPlay into their vehicles.
