Nokia Here to Connect Cars to the Cloud

Here, a Nokia business, announced Monday that it has partnered with the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler and two of the world’s leading automotive system integrators, Continental Corporation 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, believes Nokia.

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.

[ Also Read: Can We Hope to See Crash-Proof Cars by 2020? ]

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, suggests Nokia.

With experience of supplying maps for the automotive industry, Here will help car makers and in-vehicle technology suppliers create connected cars.

[ Also Read: Technology to Help Volvo Cars Avoid Accidents ]

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.

[ Also Read: Nokia’s HERE for Toyota Navigation Systems ]

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.

The Here Connected Driving offering will be demonstrated at the International Motor Show starting today, Sept. 10.

Photo courtesy: Nokia