Apple wants the ‘Apple Car’ to be able to seamlessly park itself

Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple has been granted a patent (number 11,383,699) with the goal that such a self-driving vehicle will be able to seamlessly park itself. 

About the patent

The tech giant wants its vehicle to be equipped with park assist systems that assist in identifying a suitable parking space and maneuvering the vehicle into the parking space. For example, a vehicle computer can be programmed to receive data from vehicle sensors and, based on such data, to maneuver the vehicle to park in a parking space. 

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A parking space can be identified. A lateral clearance can be identified when a vehicle is parked in the parking space based on identifying a first door of the vehicle to be provided the lateral clearance when the vehicle is parked. A parking position of the vehicle in the parking space can be determined, including a parking bias angle .beta. between a vehicle longitudinal axis and a parking space longitudinal center axis, and a lateral offset of the vehicle with respect to the parking space longitudinal center axis, based on dimensions of the parking space and the lateral clearance.”

When might we see an Apple Car?

On. Nov. 18, 2021, Bloomberg reported that Apple is accelerating development on its “Apple Car.” The article says the electric vehicle will be self-driving and could roll out in 2025. 

What’s more, in a note to clients — as noted by AppleInsider — investment bank Wedbush says Apple is likely to announce a strategic electric vehicle partnership in 2022 to lay the groundwork for an “Apple Car” release in 2025.