The Here HD Map captures billions of 3D points to model the road surface. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, December 5, 2015.After four months of deliberation, Audi, Daimler and BMW have been given the green light to buy Nokia's mapping division, Here.
The deal, believed to be worth in the region of US$3 billion (RM12.67 billion), gives the German car companies their very own cartographic platform – a key element for building the technologies and digital frameworks that will enable connected and autonomous cars to become a real-world reality.
Just like Google's Google Maps system, Nokia's Here division offers intricately detailed maps covering most of the globe that are constantly updated via a world-wide fleet of scanning vehicles.
When the companies first announced their intention to acquire the business in August, Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, explained: “Here will play a key role in the digital revolution of mobility, combining high definition maps and data from vehicles to make travel safer and easier for everyone.”
In the race to bring self-driving cars to real-world roads, many experts believe that despite being a newcomer, Google is currently well in the lead.
This is partly down to the other technology services it has at its disposal and partly due to its formidable cartography capabilities in the form of Google Maps.
However, traditional carmakers are also making swift progress and when Audi appears at the 2016 International CES in January, it will be doing so with a production-ready form of its own semi-autonomous driving technology.
And, thanks to the acquisition of Here, progress is set to accelerate, and not just for Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz and its parent company Daimler.
And that's because rather than hold the data as a prize or force others to pay to use it, Here's new German owners are going to make it available to their competitors.
“With the joint acquisition of Here, we want to secure the independence of this central service for all vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and customers in other industries,” said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. – AFP/Relaxnews, December 5, 2015.
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