He ventured out to work on the Tesla Model 3 and has now returned to work on Apple’s car project.
Former VP of Mac hardware engineering Doug Field has returned to Apple after leaving the company in 2013.
The rumor mill has stated that Field will work on Apple’s Project Titan. Field began his career at Ford as a development engineer, before moving on to Segway and then to Apple, and his return is already fueling speculation that Apple’s self-driving ambitions have been rejuvenated under the leadership of Mansfield.
Rather than solely developing autonomous systems for existing car manufacturers, Apple’s rehiring of Field could indicate that the company still retains an interest in building its own vehicles.
Apple’s Project Titan began in 2014 and upwards of 1,000 employees are said to be working on developing an electric vehicle at a secret location near its Cupertino headquarters.
It’s also said that internal strife and leadership issues reportedly caused Apple to transition its focus to an autonomous driving system and pursue partnerships with existing carmakers instead of building a full car. Hundreds of employees were said to have been laid off as a result.
Apple has ramped up its fleet of autonomous vehicles with self-driving sensor arrays. As of May, the company is said to have as many as 62 vehicles out on the road using its autonomous driving software.
Apple is also working on a self-driving shuttle service called “PAIL” (an acronym for “Palo Alto to Infinite Loop”). The shuttle program will transport employees between Apple’s office in Silicon Valley.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and Daring Fireball