Location data, it can be argued, is at the core of any service that any major organisation provides anywhere in the world. For instance, for developing autonomous driving technology and connected cars, carmakers have to rely on location data and mapping platforms, and this data is equally important for fleet operators, food delivery apps and public transit users.
CES 2022
At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held both physically in Las Vegas and in the virtual world, HERE Technologies—last week, Counterpoint Research ranked HERE Technologies as the world’s number one location platform—announced many steps in location technology that, it says, will make navigating the world easier.
The company released the global library of three-dimensional lidar data (light detection and ranging) for real-world 3D modelling applications; demonstrated how location intelligence powers the future of driving; refreshed the HERE WeGo navigation app to introduce new partners and options for people on the go; and strengthened its indoor mapping capabilities.
“Maps are much more than the display you see on your smartphone or on a car’s screen,” Edzard Overbeek, CEO, HERE Technologies, told FE over a video call from Amsterdam.
“Mapping is about creating a digital twin of the world around us, and the ensuing endless possibilities.”
For example, in the area of automotive, the HERE HD Live Map deployed in Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT automated driving system allows the vehicle to drive autonomously. “HERE is among the world’s first companies to provide an HD map for commercial production vehicles with Level 3 automated driving capabilities,” Overbeek said.
Indoor Map as a service
At CES 2022, HERE launched Indoor Map as a service, with SBB (the Swiss railway operator) as its first customer.
“With an estimated 90% of people’s time spent indoors (as per a study), businesses are turning to location technologies to power wayfinding, indoor asset tracking and space usage optimisation. Yet only a small fraction of buildings have been mapped to date. HERE Indoor Map as a service aims to change that,” Overbeek added.
There are over a 100 cities across the world that HERE is covering through indoor mapping, and the HERE Indoor Map as a service is available in India as well. “We have already mapped several sites across India, including some large cities,” he said.
At CES 2022, HERE announced it has partnered with APCOA and Propark Mobility (both are parking management companies) to add over 400 indoor parking garages to its indoor map.
Beyond automotive
Vietnam’s carmaker VinFast announced at CES 2022 that it is using HERE’s location data to accelerate in-car navigation for its smart electric cars. “Over 85-90% of all global automotive OEMs are working with us,” Overbeek said. “And not just automotive, we are working with most logistics, retail, transport and food delivery companies. The world of spatial intelligence is not just automotive or transportation, it is everything. Our aim is to provide location data to the entire world.”
Operations in India
In India, HERE Technologies has its largest production centre (in Mumbai) and employs over 4,000 professionals. “India is a very strategic market for us, not just for production of maps—we have a large presence in Mumbai with very capable people—but we also know that India is becoming a frontier of location-based services and we are thinking through what all we can do to start creating a digital representation of India. There are over 85,000 developers who are actively using our platform in India,” Overbeek said.
While some sectors such as edtech and healthcare got a boost in terms of business due to the pandemic, location data companies took a hit due to Covid-19. “Most of us were hit,” Overbeek said. “If sales of cars drop, we take a hit; if supply issues hit companies (like chip shortage for carmakers), we get impacted.”
The worst, Overbeek hopes, is behind us (in 2021). “As we enter the second half of 2022, I hope supply chain issues (which began as a result of the pandemic) will be behind us.”
