This week Nokia announced an agreement to sell HERE to a consortium of leading automotive companies, comprising AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG.
Here are eight facts about HERE that you should know:
1. HERE has been mapping roads for 30 years
HERE combines expertise in the fields of mapping and location services that Nokia has developed since the mid-2000s. The roots of HERE lie in 1985 when a start-up began by mapping the San Francisco Bay area. This start-up became NAVTEQ (acquired by Nokia in 2008), and the areas covered and detail of its maps increased rapidly and in 1994 it installed its first ever automotive-grade map in the BMW 7 series.
2. Today, HERE is building the map of the future for automated cars
Automated cars can’t work without extremely detailed high definition (HD) maps. As a crucial component of automated driving technology, these HD maps allow cars to precisely position themselves on the road. They also serve as a foundation for real-time data about the road environment to enable vehicles to react to changes on the road in a timely manner.
3. There are hundreds of HERE cars mapping the world’s roads right now
HERE uses cars equipped with laser-based LiDAR technology to map roads around the world to centimeter-level accuracy. In total, HERE calls upon 80,000 data sources to constantly update its maps including cars, land-registry data and a global community of cartographers.
4. HERE already provides map data to the majority of car makers
Four out of five new cars with in-dash-navigation in Europe and North America are fitted with HERE maps. That equates to a new car every three seconds or 10 million cars a year. It also provides additional features and functionalities like routing, traffic and local search to a number of premium car manufacturers.
5. HERE helps businesses to be faster, cost-effective and efficient
The world’s leading enterprise software and logistics companies like FedEx, Oracle, SAP and UPS are working with HERE. Location intelligence from HERE helps to make fixed and mobile asset management more safe, productive, efficient and sustainable.
6. HERE can predict traffic 12 hours into the future
HERE uses its expertise in predictive analytics and cloud computing to help predict traffic up to 12 hours ahead of time. Its real-time traffic service covers 50 countries up-to-the-minute information about current traffic conditions and incidents that could cause delays. It’s also is the only traffic service on the market today that updates the direction of traffic flow on metropolitan reversible express lanes.
7. HERE maps public transport, too.
HERE doesn’t just map roads, it also has up-to-the-minute information on public transport routes and timetables. It offers public transport information for 1000 cities across 44 countries globally.
8. You can use HERE maps for free on your smartphone
The HERE maps app is available to download for Android and iOS for free, with users able to download maps to their device to reduce mobile data use at home and abroad. It offers turn-by-turn navigation for 131 countries, real-time traffic information for 50 countries and public transport routing for 1.000 cities worldwide.
