HERE Technologies and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced their new collaboration and cloud infrastructure agreement, to provide a scalable and streamlined solution for automakers’ development of location-aware software. This collaboration will advance Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) development and combining AWS technologies with HERE mapping solutions will help accelerate the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Automated Driving (AD), and new digital car experiences.
Location technology plays a pivotal role in the advanced software powering the vehicles of today and will continue to grow in importance for SDVs moving forward. For example, live mapping location technology that is rich in detail and quality is often required to power numerous functions across the digital cabin and vehicle, from navigation and location-based services to electrified drivetrains, and ADAS and AD capabilities. These data-intensive operations can be supported seamlessly and scaled easily with AWS, enabling faster software development times and reducing the time-to-market for new innovations and services.
For nearly a decade, HERE has been using AWS for its core cloud infrastructure, data platform, analytics, and the deployment of its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models. AWS’s high-performance and cost effective compute infrastructure has also enabled HERE’s rapid deployment of its unified map architecture. This architecture leverages HERE’s AI and ML models to automate, update, and enhance its IoT sensor data-derived mapmaking that processes hundreds of millions of kilometers of vehicle probe and sensor data every hour. Through this new, expanded collaboration, HERE can offer automakers a comprehensive set of cloud-native tools and technologies that help accelerate development of new automotive innovations, such as improved active safety features and infotainment systems, while delivering industry-leading location technology to better address complex navigation requirements, including multi-stop electric (EV) charging.
With HERE’s live mapping, navigation, and connected mobility services built on the scalable, highly available, and reliable global infrastructure provided by AWS, HERE customers are able to better address high-performance vehicle routing challenges, improve EV driving efficiency and battery range accuracy, and optimize driving routes. These capabilities are enabling HERE’s automotive customers to manage complex data aggregation, testing, and processing workflows to enable new, hands-free driving and digital cabin features, enhancing the overall driving experience.
AWS and HERE’s collaboration will advance ADAS and AD development by addressing critical challenges and accelerating innovation. For example, today, HERE launched SceneXtract, a solution that removes the need for manually searching, locating, and converting real-world environments into simulation-ready scenes, which is required for testing and validating the performance of ADAS and AD systems before they can be used in real-world deployments.
Using the highly accurate and continuously updated map data from HERE HD Live Map along with AWS natural language processing (NLP) and generative AI services, including Amazon Bedrock, automotive developers can now quickly locate and export HERE HD Live Map data into scenes for testing. This new solution reduces the time, effort, and cost required to prepare new simulations for ADAS and AD testing, helping the automotive industry develop and deploy these driving technologies faster and more efficiently. These simulations will help improve ADAS and AD systems, reducing the cognitive load on drivers and enhancing vehicle responsiveness to road conditions.
“Location technology is at the heart of the automotive industry’s software-defined vehicle revolution, and HERE’s collaboration with AWS is boosting our ability to deliver game-changing tools that dramatically accelerate this complex transformation for our customers. By fusing HERE’s industry-leading location intelligence with AWS’s cloud capabilities and global reach, we’re empowering automakers to rapidly evolve their vehicles into cutting-edge software platforms. Our work with AWS enables our customers to leverage our state-of-the-art location technology for faster software development and real-time data analytics throughout the entire SDV lifecycle, propelling the industry into a new era of automotive excellence,” said Mike Nefkens, CEO at HERE.
“The future of the auto industry is linked to technological advancement and invention, and our collaboration with HERE is a powerful example of how AWS is accelerating innovation across manufacturing, connected vehicles, and driver experiences,” said Matt Garman, CEO at AWS. “Working with HERE, we will help automakers pioneer new ways to improve the driving experience by leveraging the global scale, reliability, and AI capabilities of AWS to power AI-driven mapping applications and features.”
Enabling developers to build essential location-based services
HERE’s mapping data and services are also used as the primary location data provider within Amazon Location Service, which enables developers to add geospatial data and location functionality to applications, including dynamic and static maps, places search and geocodes, route planning, and device tracking and geofencing capabilities. These capabilities allow customers to visualize data on a map, recommend routes, use geocoding to convert plain text addresses into geographic coordinates, convert latitude and longitude coordinates into addresses, and monitor and track assets such as fleets of vehicles.
Developing transportation and logistics solutions
Beyond the automotive industry, AWS and HERE entered into a Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) to build and scale HERE’s new transportation and logistics solutions, using HERE mapping content, location services, analytics and proprietary AI/ML algorithms, on top of compute, storage and database capabilities from AWS. These new solutions will be available through AWS Marketplace and enterprise and independent software vendor (ISV) customers optimize their fulfillment and deliveries, build more efficient supply chains with increased visibility into shipments and assets, and further their sustainability goals. For example, companies are using HERE’s location intelligence on AWS to gain real-time visibility into the shipment of critical equipment to provide accurate estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and ensure the timely delivery of essential products.
