Apple has dozens of software engineers in Canada to work on the construction of an OS for cars, a rare move for a company that often houses research and development projects near its headquarters in Cupertino, California, according to people familiar with the matter.
Many engineers working in Canada they were hired in the past year and around two dozen came from BlackBerry QNX Ltd., a leading provider of automotive software. They asked not to be identified to discuss the details of a secret project.
Engineers now working in an office of Apple in the neighbourhood of Kanata of Ottawa, about five minutes walk from QNX. Apple directed his gaze employees QNX due to their experience in the development of key components of operating systems and energy management, said a former Executive of QNX.
The most notable QNX recruitment was its CEO, Dan Dodge. Since he joined the initiative of the Titan Apple project earlier this year, it has assumed a larger role overseeing the operating system for the auto, dividing his time between Canada and California, said the people. Another notable hiring is Derrick Keefe, who left QNX last year after more than one decade as Chief Engineer.
Operating the car system is the core of a future platform for Apple auto software, in the same way as the iPhone iOS. A team of Apple is developing a standalone software that would guide future self drive vehicles and will run on the operating system.
Autonomous software was just one of the many features planned to run on the operating system for the car. For example, Apple engineers and see a screen “heads up” that displays applications such as maps that can be manipulated by a voice (Siri)-based digital assistant.
The fate of these features depends on the overall strategic direction of the Titan project. Bob Mansfield, who took charge of the project in April, has given engineers a deadline to prove the technology of self drive before deciding on the next steps.
Other project teams Titan include a group for self drive simulation platform. Apple has developed simulators of reality virtual that used to try the software from self drive without having the system in it via public.
