What's the news?
HERE, the former mapping arm of Nokia that was snapped up by Audi, BMW and Mercedes in 2015 for a fee in excess of €700 million, is debuting an autonomous road-detailing system called Electronic Horizon at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Electronic Horizon works by using map data, dynamic road event data and even the topography of the surface itself to create a 'simplified representation of the road ahead', capable of displaying anything from a few hundred metres ahead to several kilometres. It then sets up the car's advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to the optimal configurations - without the driver having to do anything.
These settings include predictive powertrain control, adaptive cruise control, adaptive lighting, night vision and object recognition, and HERE has programmed Electronic Horizon to support full autonomous cars in the near future. HERE also says it will work even when there is no internet connection, by referring back to stored map data in the car's systems.
Anything else?
"For people to let go of the wheel, it's vital that they come to trust their cars," said Ralf Herrtwich, head of automotive at HERE. "This new piece of software helps build that trust by telling the car what lies ahead so it can drive better on its own. We believe automakers will also appreciate the benefits of this new software in vehicle development. For too long, they have grappled with the complexity of working with multiple suppliers. By combining this new software with HERE content and services, automakers can now deploy a complete and future-proof location solution for the car and do so fast."