Apple Car Is Sign Of Mapping Push By Tech Companies

Apple's reported interest in making cars is a sign of the times says an entrepreneurial expert, who sees it as part of a push by tech companies into mapping -- which is essential for autonomous vehicles.

"People are going to start buying cars because of the embedded technology," said Peter Adriaens, a professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, in a phone interview.

"Tech [companies] are sending a signal that the value now in the car is the technology."  

Reports about an Apple project to build an electric car with self-driving capability seemed to come out of left field.  But that's not really the case, according to Adriaens.

In addition to Apple's reported interest, Nokia and Uber -- not to mention Google --  all are getting into self-driving vehicles or electric vehicles or sensor loaded vehicles, he said.

Adriaens says Nokia is one of the best examples because they've been working on this for a while. Nokia, for instance, has 300 Here True vehicles in cities across the world doing mapping.

This is the fruit of a partnership with Siemens -- dating back to 2007 -- he said. "The focus was on building very advanced mapping systems."

"Those 300 vehicles on the road are fully sensored and they’re tying in the sensors with their mapping system," he said.  Nokia’s mapping systems are already in [a large percentage of] cars sold globally, according to Adriaens.

Adriaens also points to Uber's partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, announced earlier this month.

According to that announcement, the partnership will provide a forum for Uber to work with the CMU National Robotics Engineering Center "to do research and development, primarily in the areas of mapping and vehicle safety and autonomy technology."

None of this is lost on traditional car companies like Ford, said Adriaens.

"[CEO] Mark Fields is positioning Ford as a tech company not an automotive company. Building the value from the console out," he said.

Ford is opening a 25,000 square foot innovation and mobility center in Palo Alto, Calif. to prove this point.

"They're strengthening their software and data components dramatically. Not going to grow from Detroit out but essentially take a significant position on the west coast," he said.

"It’s analogous to the 1990s and computers. The Intel Inside thing. It’s the same thing now where the [tech] companies are saying it’s the tech inside the car not the chassis," he said.

"It’s a means to an end. It’s a way to sell other data and services."

Update: This story was originally published on February 22, 2015 at 12:45 PM.