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HERE has been a pioneer in mapping and location technology for 40 years. More than 200 million vehicles have HERE map data and solutions on board, from passenger cars to commercial trucks, delivery and rideshare vehicles to two-wheelers. HERE employs cutting-edge, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cartography techniques to extract, ingest and conflate real-world features from diverse data sources to create the freshest and richest map used by brands globally.

Digital mapmaking is the science of identifying, validating and updating a world in constant change. HERE leverages thousands of data sources to capture an extraordinary number of changes and reflect them in near real-time on a global map. As the transportation and mobility landscape evolves, the need to keep a global map updated and accurate in real-time grows. 

Maxar’s high-resolution imagery plays an important role in HERE’s automated map-making workflows. By combining Maxar’s imagery with HERE’s advanced AI and machine learning (ML) techniques, HERE can efficiently extract and update map features at scale.

“Maxar’s satellite imagery helps us push the boundaries of automated map making at global scale,” said Jeff Raimo, Vice President of Platform Enablement at HERE Technologies. “By combining numerous data sources, including vehicle sensor data and Maxar’s global satellite imagery, we’re able to provide our customers in the automotive, transportation and logistics, mobility, manufacturing and retail industries with a highly precise and actionable ground-truth view of the world.”

Generating maps for automated driving
Detecting and updating features like lane markings or barriers is essential to vehicle safety and compliance. Maxar imagery, alongside various sources like vehicle sensor data, help HERE verify real-time changes, such as construction or infrastructure updates, and adds an extra layer of confidence by being able to validate these changes automatically across the various sources. The high-definition map delivered by HERE to automakers ensures that the automated driving systems have the most accurate data for decision-making. This process ensures that ground-truth data is reflected in the maps, improving accuracy and freshness.

HERE has developed innovative feature extraction techniques to automatically pull foundational map vectors at scale from Maxar’s Vivid® basemap, which provides a seamless and consistent view of Earth. The next step is validating those vectors against Maxar’s latest satellite imagery, and updating any vectors as needed. These vectors are also enhanced by user signals, which provide tips to where updates are needed and to validate the current map.

Maxar’s satellite imagery suits HERE’s needs because of its freshness, resolution and accuracy. HERE has been using Maxar® satellite imagery as a foundational data source for more than 15 years, and recently renewed its access for several more years to come.

“We’re proud that our geospatial solutions empower HERE to build map products that accelerate the growth of their end users’ businesses and drive a sustainable future,” said Paul Granito, Maxar Intelligence’s SVP and General Manager of Enterprise. “Highly accurate and precise location data is absolutely essential as an increasing number of advanced driver assistance and automated driving systems rely on the HERE map for guidance, passenger comfort and information on the road ahead.”