Intel acquires 15% of HERE, expect collaboration

Chipmaker Intel has agreed to buy a 15% stake in mapping company HERE, it has announced.

The deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2017, will also see the two companies working closely together.

The two firms will be collaborating “on the research and development of a highly scalable proof-of-concept architecture that supports real-time updates of high definition (HD) maps for highly and fully automated driving”.

HERE and Intel say that the architecture and associated mapping updates are planned to make autonomous driving as safe and reliable as possible.

Intel’s agreement to acquire a stake in HERE serves as more proof of the march towards autonomous cars

The companies gave an example, explaining that today’s navigation tech can locate a car within “metres”, but that next-generation HD mapping can be accurate within centimetres.

The two are also expected to explore “strategic opportunities that result from enriching edge-computing devices with location data”.

“A real-time, self-healing and high-definition representation of the physical world is critical for autonomous driving, and achieving this will require significantly more powerful and capable in-vehicle compute platforms,” said Edzard Overbeek, HERE CEO, in a statement.

“As a premier silicon provider, Intel can help accelerate HERE’s ambitions in this area by supporting the creation of a universal, always up-to-date digital location platform that spans the vehicle, the cloud and everything else connected.”

Featured image: HERE