San Francisco, May 15: With 55 self-driving cars and 83 drivers, Apple now has the second highest number of self-driving cars in the US state of California where autonomous vehicles are being tested.

The Cupertino-based tech giant had 45 self-driving cars until late March.

"Apple has the second highest number of self-driving cars after General Motor's Cruise, which has 104 vehicles as of now," MacReports reported late on Monday.

"Apple grew from 3 to 45 between April 2017 and March 2018 and now this number has increased to 55," the report added.

Behind Apple is Alphabet's Waymo which currently has 51 self-driving vehicles and Elon Musk-owned Tesla which has 39 cars.

Currently, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has provided permits to 53 companies for self-driving cars that include safety drivers, resulting in a total of 409 vehicles and 1,573 safety drivers in the US.

As of now, the DMV has not issued any permits for complete driverless testing because for that to happen, companies must have to have a pre-testing of the vehicles in controlled conditions. 

"The DMV is currently reviewing two driverless testing permit applications," a DMV spokesperson reportedly told TechCrunch. 

Code-named "Project Titan", Apple's self-driving programme's fleet is reportedly made up of Lexus RX450h SUVs, each of which is fitted with huge racks of LIDAR and radar sensors as well as cameras. 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Kalaburagi: Four men have been arrested in Kalaburagi on charge of hacking a man with lethal weapons and pelting stones at him under the limits of Station Bazaar Police Station recently.

According to police sources, Anand Jalak Shinde (34), Ashitosh Jalak Shinde (30), Imran Mehboob Sheikh (28) and Sohaib Anwar Qureshi have been arrested. The men are accused of the brutal murder of Syed Mehboob, a resident of Station Bazaar Upper Line Hamalawadi in the city.

An FIR was filed by the Station Bazaar Police Station based on a complaint given by Syed Ismail, father of the deceased Syed Mehboob.

Following quick probe, the police team successfully arrested the suspects within 24 hours. The arrested men were produced in court and have been sent to judicial custody.

The City Police Commissionerate has appreciated in an official release the police team’s quick solving of the murder case and arrest of the four men accused of murdering Syed Mehboob.