Apple has confirmed that the camera-equipped vans first spotted earlier this year are being used to enhance Apple Maps. In a new website trumpeting the program, Apple has promised to protect privacy while collecting data, and will “blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication.” The company has also spelled out where the vans will be spotted between June 15 and June 30.
Apple’s vehicles each have an X-shaped frame mounted to a luggage rack; the cameras are situated on four corners. Facing forward and back are spinning cylinders, similar to the LiDAR systems used on Google’s self-driving car prototypes. CBS affliate KPIX originally discovered that a blue Dodge Caravan with the equipment was under lease to Apple.
The website is sparse graphically, but includes many locations. For the next 15 days, the vehicles will be spotted in Leinster, Ireland; many locations in England; Pima, AZ; Alameda and Los Angeles, CA; Orange County, FL; Fulton, GA; Oahu, HI; Cook, Illinois; Suffolk, MA; Wayne, MI; St. Louis, MO; New York City; Dallas and Tarrant, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; and King, WA.
