Apple's Mysterious Camera-Equipped Vehicle Leaves Everyone Wondering

Apple has been testing a mysterious camera-equipped vehicles in the Bay Area equipping camera equipment and a LiDAR sensor mounted to the roof. Out of the many vehicles, at least one of them is registered to Apple.

The vehicles have created speculations that it might be a prototype of a self-driving vehicle, being developed by Apple. However, Apple is not among the companies that has been issued testing permits for driverless cars.

According to experts it might have something to do with Apple's ambitious maps program, like Google's Street View data collection initiative.

Two small disc-shaped antennas are also fitted to the roof, as well as a sensor hanging over the rear wheel that could be used to more accurately measure movement as indicated by the rotation of the wheel. An almost identical white van with California license plates was spotted last September in Brooklyn, noted Apple Insider.

However, based on the number of cameras the vehicle equipped, some experts also believe it's a self-driving test vehicle and not a mapping car.

 "Too many cameras," said technology analyst Rob Enderle. "It has cameras that are angled down at all four corners of the vehicle."

 "It can be a partnership. You know, they have partnerships with a variety of the carmakers," Enderle added. "Just because they're leasing the car doesn't necessarily mean it's their project."