What's all this about?
With autonomous cars on the way, HERE - the data-mapping company which was bought by Audi, BMW and Mercedes in 2015 for a sum of more than £500million - is planning to increase driver confidence in the self-thinking motor by debuting a new system that reads the road ahead.
Umm... can't cars already do that?
Sort of, but not like this. HERE's technology is called Electronic Horizon and it uses map data, dynamic road event data and even the topography of the surface itself to create a 'simplified representation of the road ahead', capable of displaying anything from a few hundred metres ahead to several kilometres. It then sets up the car's advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to the optimal configurations - without the driver having to lift a finger.
Right... so what does is change?
Electronic Horizon can switch the predictive powertrain control, adaptive cruise control, adaptive lighting, night vision and object recognition to suit whatever immediately lies ahead, and HERE says it has also programmed Electronic Horizon to support fully autonomous cars in the near future. HERE also says it will work even when there is no internet connection, by referring back to stored map data in the car's systems.
Where has HERE demonstrated this tech and when's it coming to market?
The Electronic Horizon software was demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and HERE reckons it will be fitted to production cars in this calendar year.
I'm still not 100 per cent sure of this - can anyone at HERE explain why it has created this tech?
OK, Ralf Herrtwich is your man, as he's head of automotive for HERE. And he said: "For people to let go of the wheel, it's vital that they come to trust their cars. This new piece of software helps build that trust by telling the car what lies ahead so it can drive better on its own. We believe auto makers will also appreciate the benefits of this new software in vehicle development. For too long, they have grappled with the complexity of working with multiple suppliers. By combining this new software with HERE content and services, auto makers can now deploy a complete and future-proof location solution for the car, and do so fast."
Matt Robinson - 4 Jan 2017