Apple Hires Engineer who used to Work on Digital License Plates

Apple has been snapping up talent from all over the place ever since it started putting more effort into Project Titan, Cupertino's electric car initiative. One of its latest hires is veteran software engineer Rónán Ó Braonáin, and according to Electrek, he was the Director of Engineering at a company called Reviver, which is developing what it claims is "the world's first digital license plate." These high-tech plates are expected to have wireless connectivity that can alert authorities if a vehicle is stolen or if its registration is expired. It could also give rise to shared vehicle programs, wherein a car can be legally owned by more than one person, each one associated with a unique plate number. The device can simply switch the letters and numbers displayed, depending on who's driving.

Now, if you're asking, "Yeah, sure, but does this mean Apple's working on digital plates for its EV?" We're afraid there's still no definite answer to that -- you know how secretive the company can be. In fact, Electrek snooped on Ó Braonáin's LinkedIn profile and found that he calls himself a "Secret Agent @ Apple Special Projects." If Cupertino's truly working on digital plates, though, then we wouldn't be surprised if the technology takes off after the company releases its version. By the way, some of the engineers Apple hired for Titan used to work for Tesla. The automaker's CEO, Elon Musk, recently slammed the iPhone-maker for hiring the engineers his company fired.