Nokia hopes to push its new embedded navigation system into connected cars

Image: Nokia
Image: Nokia

Nokia is taking its next major step in in-vehicle navigation with the release of Here Connected Driving platform for car makers.

With Navteq under its belt since 2007, Nokia isn’t new to mapping, even helping Qualcomm improve its chips’ indoor location capabilities. But with Here Connected Driving, Nokia extends its the Here mapping brand to the world of networked vehicles and entertainment.

The first of four prongs in the platform is Here Auto, an embedded in-dashboard navigation system that provides voice guided navigation in 95 countries as well as 2D, 3D, satellite map views and street views. Aimed at car makers, Nokia is also providing an SDK and RESTful APIs that allow them to integrate music or social networking and other features with the system.

A Here Auto Companion app, designed for users with Windows Phone or Android devices, allows the smartphone to interact with vehicle sensors to display key indicators like fuel level and tyre pressure, or lock and unlock the car. It can also be used in combination with Nokia’s augmented reality app LiveSight to help users locate their car.

A major component of the platform is Here Auto Cloud, which delivers real-time traffic information, route optimisation as well information about relevant vehicle services, such as nearby and available electric charging stations, fuel price information in the US, Canada and Europe, points of interest, parking, traffic cameras, weather, and streetview images.

Nokia is also rolling out a revamped Here Traffic product that helps deliver travel time estimates based on probe points and sensor information to determine how weather, traffic congestion, road construction affects driving conditions.

Nokia will be showcasing the technology in Frankfurt, Germany, on 10 September at the International Motorshow.

Source: zdnet.com