The role of mapping in the transition from automated to autonomous driving
By: Karina Schultz
Tags: Here Maps, Mapping, Autonomous Cars, Self Driving Cars, Location Intelligence

With mapping data being sourced from different car manufacturers who use different sensors from different suppliers of varying quality standards — how can the accuracy of maps be validated in real-time on the basis of fleet data?

CH: That is the art of map-making. Our business is to interpret and integrate various sources of data into a coherent data service with quality Service Level Agreements that can be used by many different OEM. Building one map from a single source is easy. But unfortunately, this is not the reality. There will always be one vehicle that will detect a real-world change first, and then, depending on the change, different ways to validate the change will need to be undertaken before a correction can be published.

The data generated from sensors onboard modern vehicles can be used to warn other cars on the road about traffic flows or possible dangers. The faster that can happen, the more efficient and safer our roads will become. Currently, vehicle sensor data exists in multiple different formats across automakers.

That’s why we initiated SENSORIS, an international collaborative body of automotive and mapping companies. SENSORIS enables a single data exchange format that automotive companies can use to fulfill the use cases of data suppliers and data consumers. This helps to solve the problem of data sharing.

It is obvious that sending all relevant sensor data to the cloud will not be feasible — Christof Hellmis

How are the large quantities of sensor data collected by vehicles processed for the accuracy of maps? Is the data sent OTA back to HERE, processed, and sent back? Or is it processed within the vehicle itself?

CH: It is obvious that sending all relevant sensor data to the cloud will not be feasible. We support OEMs with a means to detect changes in the vehicle and provide meaningful information back to us. We call these “Maplets”. HERE Maplets are created in the vehicle based on real-time sensor recognitions. The data is buffered for a stretch of the road in the vehicle, allowing for the fusion of multiple recognitions of the same object, the same level of post-processing and the elimination of false detections. HERE Maplets are transmitted over the air, potentially passing through an OEM cloud, to the HERE Cloud.

We are also discussing ways to collect data on demand, where necessary. Our own OTA technology, HERE OTA Connect, supports these scenarios. Connected vehicles will not need to send a constant stream of data to the cloud. Instead, they will be asked to collect data only on specific roads or under specific conditions.

What sort of connectivity is required to keep maps up to date?

CH: We believe that 4G is sufficient for most use cases and scenarios. However, 5G promises to support even more cases.

Overall, what technologies and methods do you implement with regard to handling massive amounts of data?

CH: One key method is the ability to provide only the data that is needed. Our HD Live Map service provides smaller partitions of a map that can be consumed on-demand. The layered nature also allows updates only to the layers that have changed.

How do you ensure cybersecurity when handling these large amounts of data and updating maps OTA?

CH: We have our own OTA product, HERE OTA Connect, that enables the safe and secure transfer of data, software and firmware. HERE OTA Connect uses Uptane, one of the first comprehensive automotive security frameworks available that is also supported by the U.S Department of Homeland Security and designed specifically for software that runs on connected and autonomous cars.