Plan to develop next-generation connected car solutions combining high-precision maps with telematics

LG Electronics is jointly developing core autonomous vehicle technologies with HERE.

LG Electronics has signed a "Partnership Agreement for the Joint Development of Next-Generation Connected Car Solutions" with HERE. The two companies plan to develop a next-generation connected car solution by next year that combines LG Electronics' telematics with HERE's high-precision map data, capable of identifying all terrain features down to the centimeter level.

Telematics is a vehicle communication component that supports all communication standards, ranging from GPS to DMB networks, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and mobile communication, and provides various services such as navigation, location tracking, emergency dispatch, vehicle safety, and entertainment.

HERE's HD Live Map is a 3D digital map capable of identifying all topographic features on and around roads, such as lanes, stop lines, width, cracks, signs, traffic lights, and guardrails, down to the centimeter. It also boasts excellent technology for collecting various sensor data, analyzing it via the cloud, and reflecting it on the map.

This is an essential technology for autonomous driving, and its technological prowess is recognized to the extent that the three German automakers—BMW, Audi, and Daimler—made an unprecedented alliance to acquire HERE in 2015. In January of this year, Intel, which has entered the autonomous driving sector, also joined as a new investor in HERE.

For actual autonomous vehicles to drive safely on the road, a vast amount of information regarding the vehicle's surroundings must be provided with accuracy down to the centimeter. The next-generation connected car solution being developed exchanges information on surrounding vehicles and the environment, collected through vehicle ADAS sensors such as cameras, radar, and lidar, as well as V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything communication), with a cloud server to provide highly precise environmental information in real time.

Lee Woo-jong, President and Head of LG Electronics’ Vehicle Components (VC) Business Division, said, “We will set a new standard for autonomous vehicle communication solutions by collaborating with HERE, which possesses advanced mapping technology,” adding, “LG Electronics will continue to introduce next-generation connected car components to help automakers respond to the era of autonomous driving.”