Apple eyes proving grounds for self-driving car, report says

Apple is looking into using a former military base northeast of San Francisco as a high-security proving ground for autonomous vehicles it is developing, according to an online report by British newspaper The Guardian.Engineers from the technology giant’s Special Projects group have been in contact with representatives of GoMentum Station, a 2,100-acre facility on the site of what used to be the Concord Naval Weapons Station, in Concord, Calif.Correspondence obtained by The Guardian through public records requests shows Apple is interested in using the sprawling sites, which has more than 20 miles of paved roads, city streets, railroad crossings and tunnels, to test self-driving vehicles.Both Honda and Mercedes-Benz have been using GoMentum Station for testing their own autonomous cars.News of Apple’s interest in the former base is the latest glimpse into Apple’s secretive autonomous-car program. The maker of iPhones and MacBooks had said little publicly about its vehicle-development efforts, but in recent months it has hired some well-known executives from automakers.These include Doug Betts, the former head of global quality at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles who joined Apple this summer. Earlier this year Johann Jungwrith jumped to Apple from Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley research center.Weapons stationDuring World War II, the Concord Naval Weapons Station was where munitions were loaded onto ships bound for the Pacific Theater. It was decommissioned in 2005. But its 20 miles of crisscrossing roads has made it a hotbed for autonomous-vehicle testing. The facility is run by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and marketed as GoMentum Station.According to The Guardian, Apple officials met with GoMentum representatives in May.In a letter, an Apple engineer wrote that the company would “like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using” the former base.“We are hoping to see a presentation on the ... testing grounds with a layout, photos, and a description of how the various areas of the grounds could be used,” the engineer said.

Apple eyes proving grounds for self-driving car, report says

Featured Stories