Apple has been granted a permit to test self-driving cars by the California Department of Motor Vehicles but the company has never said anything about its plan.

苹果公司已经获得了加利福尼亚州车辆管理局允许其进行自动驾驶汽车测试的许可，但此前该公司从未提起过此项计划。

The application documents released give some clues about the company's highly secret self-driving effort, which included a 10-page training plan that appeared to be related to operators taking back manual control of the car during automated¹ driving exercises of the system, which it calls a development platform.

最近发布的申请文件披露了该公司在自动驾驶方面进行的一些高度机密的工作，其中包括一份10页的培训计划，似乎有关操作员在系统的自动驾驶测试过程中拿回车辆的手动控制权，苹果把这一系统称作开发平台。

"The development platform will be controlled electronically (e.g. joystick) and safety drivers must be ready to intervene and take control," the document reads.

文件中写道：“开发平台将由电子系统(例如操作杆)进行控制，安全驾驶员必须时刻准备干预并控制系统。”

The document highlights different scenarios² to be tested, from high speed driving and tight U-turns to lane changes.

该文件强调要测试不同的驾驶场景，从高速驾驶到紧急U型转弯再到变换车道等。

One letter sent from Apple to the state Department of Motor Vehicles noted³ that Apple's development platform "will have the ability to capture and store relevant data before a collision occurs."

此外，一份苹果公司致美国加州机动车管理局的信函称，苹果的开发平台“将能够在发生碰撞之前捕获和存储相关数据。”

The document does not include detail on how Apple's self-driving platform actually works or other technical details. It also does not say what kind of sensors⁴ are found on Apple's three permitted vehicles, all 2015 Lexus model RX450h.

这份文件并未透露苹果公司无人驾驶平台实际工作细节或其它技术细节。它也没有说明苹果公司被允许上路测试的三辆汽车采用何种类型的传感器，这三辆汽车全部是2015款雷克萨斯RX450h。

The permit does not necessarily mean that Apple itself is building a full car. Apple could instead be designing a self-driving platform that can be integrated into other manufacturer's cars.

这一许可并不一定意味着苹果自己在制造整车。苹果也可能是在设计一个可以装配到其它厂商的汽车里的自动驾驶平台。