LG Electronics (LG) is partnering with HERE Technologies, a global provider of digital mapping and location services, to offer a next-generation telematics solution for autonomous vehicles. The solution combines LG’s advanced telematics technology with high-precision map data and location services powered by the HERE Open Location Platform. Through their planned collaboration, the companies aim to support automakers globally with a robust and secure data communications hub for highly automated and fully autonomous cars.

LG, which has been involved in the global telematics market since 2013, says it is committed to introducing next-generation solutions that offer high-precision map information to meet the needs of the quickly expanding autonomous vehicle industry.

HERE is one of the world’s leading providers of map data and location services to the automotive industry, powering more than 100 million cars on the road today. The company also is working with automakers on the development of HD Live Map, its cloud-based map service, which supports connected, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving solutions. HD Live Map, which LG intends to deploy in the joint solution to automakers, identifies all roads and surrounding features such as lane markings, stop signs, crosswalks, speed signs and traffic lights. The importance of the company’s intellectual property and potential was highlighted in 2015 when a consortium of global automotive companies – Audi, BMW and Daimler – acquired HERE. The company also has since welcomed additional investors from the broader technology industry.

When fully developed, telematics will play a key role as the communication hub for autonomous vehicles. First, sensors in the vehicle’s ADAS – comprised of cameras, radar and LIDAR – read the surrounding environment and send the data to the cloud along with information on nearby vehicles collected via V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything). All the information gathered is repeatedly analyzed and transmitted to the telematics systems of vehicles for customized driving information.

LG’s telematics solutions support various communication technologies from GPS to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile communication. LG engineers are working earnestly to develop 5G products, which will be four to five times faster than LTE with 90 percent reduction in latency, ideal for next generation autonomous vehicle operation.

“We’re presenting a new standard for autonomous mobile communication solutions in cooperation with HERE, which has unsurpassed cutting-edge automotive guidance technology,” said J.Y. Kim, executive vice president of LG’s vehicle components smart business unit. “With partners like HERE, LG can continue to advance the next generation of connected car technologies to help prepare automakers for the self-driving era.”

“To operate safely and efficiently, autonomous vehicles will need many kinds of robust data sources and powerful communication technologies,” said Moon Lee, vice president of HERE Technologies APAC. “We believe our open location platform-powered services can play a critical role in next-generation telematics technology for autonomous vehicles, and we’re excited to be working with LG to make this a reality.”