Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
After many years in development, Apple abruptly pulled the plug on its car project back in February. As the tech company considers the path forward, a new report states that the iPhone maker may set its sights on home robotics as its next ambitious project.
A Bloomberg report earlier today shed light on Apple’s purported interest in home robotics. The plans aren’t set in stone, but sources familiar with the matter described some in-development projects to Bloomberg. One is a personal robot that will follow users around their homes, and the other is an “advanced table-top home device” with a display that can be moved around. The current idea is that these projects would leverage the growing power of artificial intelligence.
Specifically, the report says the home robotics projects are in the works at Apple’s hardware engineering and AI and machine-learning groups.
Apple’s decision to scrap its lengthy work on a car earlier this year left a lot of spectators puzzled, with the growing popularity of electric vehicles in recent years. As the project was never officially revealed, Apple neglected to explain why it eventually decided to move away. As for the company’s rumored new robotics project, we’ll be watching carefully for an official announcement, though we’d be surprised if there was any news regarding it at WWDC in June.