Here Technologies is introducing a number of new services at CES in Las Vegas, with which the company is expanding its platform for location-based data services. On the basis of various data processed using special algorithms, the services warn of accidents and danger spots or calculate the availability of charging stations.
Road Alerts
Here warns of traffic delays and procedures.
Here Road Alerts is a cloud service that combines sensor data from millions of vehicles on the road with known disruptions to provide “timely, accurate information about road hazards.” The system warns about construction work, accidents, broken-down vehicles, wrong-way drivers, poor visibility or adverse weather, the company said in Las Vegas.
For this purpose, data from headlights, brake systems and assistance systems of networked vehicles, among other things, is evaluated. There are also various types of sources such as GPS data from vehicles or devices as well as official notifications or media reports. The service should help improve driver assistance systems, it said.
The company is supplementing its information service about charging stations “Here EV Charge Points”, which is already in use by numerous automobile manufacturers, with a forecast of the actual availability of a charging station. In addition to data about the existing infrastructure, a machine learning algorithm also takes demand into account and includes variables such as weather, time and day of the week.
Autonomous Zones
Manufacturers can determine where automatic systems can be used – and where not.
Third, Here introduces software called “Automated Driving Zones” that automakers can use to specify the conditions under which they activate their vehicles’ autonomous functions. For example, automated or autonomous driving systems can only be activated if the external conditions allow it. Manufacturers can define so-called Operational Design Domains (ODDs) for this, not only for individual manufacturers, vehicle brands and models, but also for different levels of automated driving (from SAE Level L2 to L4).
The company Here operates a location data and technology platform with a development environment and numerous location-based services. It goes back to the Navteq map service, which Nokia acquired in 2008. As part of their reorientation towards the network business, the Finns have sold their location subsidiary to Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Several companies are now involved in Here, including suppliers Bosch and Continental, the US chip company Intel, as well as Mitsubishi, NTT and Pioneer.
(vbr)
