Location Data Providers Rally for Autonomous Cars Global Standard

A unified worldwide mapping system will guide self-driving cars safely and efficiently. That is the goal of HERE Technologies and its regional mapping partners NavInfo of China, Increment P (IPC)/Pioneer of Japan and SK Telecom of Korea.

The four companies announced they have formed the OneMap Alliance to offer a global, standardised and dynamic high definition (HD) map from 2020. The global HD map offering is aligned to the specification developed for HERE HD Live Map.

Together, the companies plan to offer a consistent HD map across regions at a time when several automakers will be bringing to market vehicles with high levels of automation. The OneMap Alliance is open to new, strategic partners who are shaping the future of automated driving, mobility and smart cities.

"Automakers building automated cars are thinking globally and want a HD map that can scale with them," said Ralf Herrtwich, SVP Services at HERE Technologies. "By sourcing from the OneMap Alliance partners, automakers get to leverage a map that is fully harmonised across regions, offering the same high quality for their vehicles in the U.S. as it does in Europe and Asia. This simplified way of sourcing the map will also help reduce automakers' development time and unnecessary costs."

"NavInfo is dedicated to build the intelligent, reliable and standardised HD Live Map to jointly realise a safer and better autonomous driving solution with partners all around the globe," said Patrick Cheng, CEO of NavInfo. "With OneMap Alliance, market leaders are able to join forces to empower automakers with high quality, scalable, and now unified HD Live Map to accelerate the next steps of autonomous driving."

"In Japan, Dynamic Map Platform Co. Ltd. (DMP), in which IPC invested, together with other map companies and automakers in Japan, has developed HD 3D map data," said Takumi Jinguji, President and CEO of IPC. "With IPC's map technology, HD map data developed by DMP will be provided to European and American automakers through HERE HD Live Map."

"In the era of autonomous driving, cars will share and receive real-time data about what's happening on the road, and this is where HD maps and advanced connectivity will play a crucial role," said Ian Huh, SVP IoT/data Division Head at SK Telecom. "With HD Live Map leveraging our 5G technology, SK Telecom will be at the heart of a powerful unified service for automakers."