HERE, a Nokia business, announced ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show that it has partnered with the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler and two of the world's leading automotive system integrators, Continental Corp. and Magneti Marelli. These partners are building on the HERE Connected Driving framework to offer individual connected products and services that go beyond navigation to meet their differing needs.
Connecting the car to the cloud is one of the biggest opportunities for the automotive industry today. Connectivity will allow cars to compute real time information on demand so that the vehicle can take over more aspects of driving ultimately creating an entirely new class of services. At the same time, technology is advancing so rapidly that what appears cutting edge today will be commonplace tomorrow. Automakers and system integrators alike need a partner who understands their needs, offers them flexibility and can stay ahead of fast moving technology cycles.
With a long history in supplying maps for the automotive industry, HERE is positioned to help car makers and in-vehicle technology suppliers create connected cars.
HERE has teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to jointly develop smart maps for connected cars and ultimately, self-driving cars. HERE and Mercedes built a 3D digital map of the route that the first Benz Patent-Motorwagen took 125 years ago from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany. Based on the particular requirements of autonomous vehicles, this map includes precise road data that go beyond traditional maps, including the number and direction of lanes, traffic signs along the route and even exact coordinates of traffic lights. While autonomous vehicles may not hit the streets commercially for several years, automakers and tech innovators alike must already think about the infrastructure and technological requirements needed to support this technology. Mercedes-Benz and HERE will continue to explore this area together.
Magneti Marelli is working with HERE to develop an end-to-end connected driving solution ready to use for car makers, based on Magneti Marelli's open platform and the HERE Connected Driving offering. It takes advantage of dynamic content from the HERE Auto Cloud such as real-time traffic information, parking and fuel prices as well as information on local places.
Continental Corp. recently announcedthat it has implemented 3D content from HERE into its new Infotainment platform. With HERE, the platform will integrate different location based applications into cars such as 3D Landmarks, satellite imagery with split screen and current traffic information among other location based applications. Drivers can also synch navigation destinations and route preferences across the in-dash system in their vehicles and their smartphone, tablet, or PC.
"We believe that the evolution towards a connected car future will happen in different phases. Autonomous driving is just one fascinating aspect," said Michael Halbherr, head of HERE and executive vice president at Nokia. "Every car OEM, system integrator and every driver will require their own unique solution and technology will never be able to replace human understanding. That is why we have created our connected driving solutions with fresh maps at their core."
The HERE connected driving offering will be demonstrated at the International Motor Show starting on Sept. 10 at Hall 4.1, Stand E30.
