Map and traffic provider TomTom and electronics firm Bosch have agreed to collaborate in the area of maps for automated driving. Under this agreement, TomTom will design the maps, while Bosch will define the specifications these maps have to meet. These maps are already being used in the automated vehicles Bosch is testing on certain […]
Map and traffic provider TomTom and electronics firm Bosch have agreed to collaborate in the area of maps for automated driving.
Under this agreement, TomTom will design the maps, while Bosch will define the specifications these maps have to meet.
These maps are already being used in the automated vehicles Bosch is testing on certain public roads in Germany (A81) and in the United States (I280).
Commenting on the importance of this venture, the Bosch board of management member Dr. Dirk Hoheisel said: “Only with high precision maps will automated driving on motorways be possible from 2020.” And Jan Maarten de Vries, Vice President Automotive at TomTom, adds: “By the end of 2015, we want to have new high-precision maps for automated driving for all motorways and motorway-like roads in Germany.” Road coverage will subsequently be extended to the rest of Europe and North America.
Maps for highly automated driving and the maps used in current navigation systems differ primarily in two respects.
First, accuracy is significantly higher – down to decimeter precision. Second, the map material for highly automated driving consists of multiple layers.
