Apple has for the first time publicly acknowledged its plans to develop self-driving cars, with a letter that urges the US highways regulator to promote “fair competition” between newcomers to the automotive industry and traditional manufacturers.

苹果公司(Apple)首度公开承认开发自动驾驶汽车的计划，该公司致函美国公路监管机构，呼吁促进汽车行业新入行企业和传统制造商之间的“公平竞争”。

In an unusually direct statement accompanying the letter, an Apple spokesman confirmed its work on autonomous¹ systems that could be used to transform “the future of transportation²”.

在伴随该信件的一份异常直接的声明中，一位苹果发言人确认，苹果在自动系统领域进行了开发工作，可能被用来改变“交通运输业的未来”。

Apple’s letter touts³ the “significant societal benefits of automated⁴ vehicles”, which it described as a life-saving technology, potentially preventing millions of car crashes and thousands of fatalities⁵ each year.

苹果的信赞扬了“自动汽车的重大社会效益”，称这是一种拯救生命的技术，有望每年防止数百万起车祸和成千上万的死伤。

The disclosure highlights how Apple may struggle to maintain its notorious secrecy⁶ in new product development as it enters more highly regulated markets, from transportation to healthcare.

苹果的这一信息披露凸显出，随着该公司进入从交通到医疗等监管较严格的市场，它或许难以维持其在新产品开发上出了名的保密做法。

Hundreds of Apple staff have been working on an electric car for more than two years, people familiar with the project say. The Financial Times first reported the secret research lab, which is based outside its Cupertino headquarters in neighbouring Sunnyvale, in February last year.

据知情人士透露，数百名苹果员工已经在一款电动汽车上工作了两年多时间。英国《金融时报》去年2月最先报道了这个秘密研发实验室的存在，该实验室不在苹果的库比蒂诺(Cupertino)总部，而是在邻近的森尼维尔(Sunnyvale)。

Since then, despite leaks about the project’s sometimes difficult progress, Apple executives have refused to admit that the automotive initiative exists.

此后，尽管有时传出该项目进展艰难的消息，但苹果高管一直拒绝承认汽车项目的存在。

That position will be harder to maintain after the publication of a letter from Apple to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as part of the regulator’s regular dialogue with manufacturers about its rules for the fast-developing technology. The letter was signed by Steve Kenner, Apple’s director of product integrity, and was submitted on November 22.

在苹果致美国国家公路交通安全管理局(NHTSA)的信件发表后，苹果将更难以维持这一口径。这封信属于该监管机构与制造商就其针对这项快速发展技术的规则进行的定期沟通。苹果产品完整性总监史蒂夫.肯纳(Steve Kenner)在信上签字，信件寄递时间是11月22日。

“Apple uses machine learning to make its products and services smarter, more intuitive, and more personal,” Mr Kenner writes. “The company is investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation.”

“苹果利用机器学习使其产品和服务更智能、更直观、更个性化，”肯纳写道：“苹果公司正大力投资于机器学习和自动化研究，并对自动系统在多个领域的潜力感到振奋，包括交通运输业。”