Pioneer and HERE have agreed to use each other’s map material.
Here
HERE, developers and suppliers of cloud-based mapping services, and Pioneer, the automotive electronics company, are bundling their technologies for making maps and developing services for the automotive industry. Both companies want to jointly provide solutions for both digital standard-definition (SD) maps and high-definition (HD) maps. These solutions will primarily support customers from the fields of on-board infotainment and autonomous driving with the development of new products and systems. The partners are also exploring the development of new services that use real-time data from networked Pioneer devices.
A globally consistent HD map solution is the goal
HERE and Pioneer’s mapping subsidiary IPC intend to use each other’s map data for current and future products and services. According to HERE, this is a key element in its strategy to expand its map coverage across the entire Asian market and provide customers with an integrated global product. “Pioneer shares our vision that location-based technologies will be hugely beneficial to people, enterprises and society as a whole, and we look forward to working together with the Pioneer team to make this a reality”, says Edzard Overbeek, HERE’s Chief Executive Officer.
Both companies intend to enable a globally consistent HD map solution for autonomous driving. HERE and IPC are also exploring the application of data from Pioneer’s 3D-LiDAR on-board sensor in this regard. The strategic partners also intend to harness the sensor data of connected Pioneer devices for a new generation of location-based services for the automotive and other industries. The first products could be on the market in 2018. “We are very pleased that, through a strategic alliance with HERE, Pioneer/IPC can provide a global map solution and location services”, said Susumu Kotani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer.