Renovo and Here partner to bring map analytics to self-driving cars

Software mobility startup Renovo and Here Technologies, a location and navigation company, are joining forces to bring high-definition map analytics to self-driving cars.

The companies today announced a collaboration on the development of a new “technology interface” that will “maximize the utility” of sensor data generated by fleets of autonomous vehicles. It’ll be made available through Renovo’s AWare operating system, a licensable middleware that works with products from Samsung, Verizon, Velodyne, Parsons, Phantom Auto, Metamoto, Bestmile, and others to deliver features like teleoperation, mapping, fleet management, and data services.

AWare OS has already gained quite a bit of traction in the self-driving market. Taxi startup Voyage this year announced a long-term strategic collaboration that will see its fleet of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans outfitted with AWare OS. In July, Renovo teamed up with conversational artificial intelligence (A) company Speak With Me and Swedish sensor company NIRA Dynamics to integrate both companies’ technologies with AWare.

“Here Technologies is a leading creator of mapping and location services with a bold Autonomous World Vision, and we are delighted to enter into this partnership with them,” Renovo CEO and cofounder Chris Heiser said in a statement. “We enable our customers to develop and deploy fleets of highly automated vehicles, and these deployments are made possible by an open ecosystem of best-in-class technologies.”

Here Technologies — a privately held company backed by Audi, BMW, Bosch, Continental, Daimler, Intel, Pioneer, and other investors — recently launched a freemium pricing plan that offers developers access to advanced features such as offline maps, turn-by-turn navigation, and a premium mobile software development kit (SDK).

“As we build the data infrastructure required for autonomous cars, collaboration between key technology providers and across industries is mandatory,” Here Technologies CEO Edzard Overbeek said. “With AWare, Renovo has a powerful operating system for automated vehicles. Our partnership and integration into the AWare ecosystem will help expand access to data that’s vital to building automated mobility systems that people can trust.”