Skip to main content

TomTom and Baidu join forces to develop HD maps for autonomous driving

TomTom and Chinese mapping service provider Baidu have joined forces to develop high definition (HD) maps for autonomous driving.
July 7, 2017 Read time: 1 min

1692 TomTom and Chinese mapping service provider Baidu have joined forces to develop high definition (HD) maps for autonomous driving. Their collaboration combines their expertise in HD map-making and artificial intelligence (AI). Baidu will leverage TomTom’s real-time map platform to improve HD map-related technologies utilised in China.

TomTom’s HD Map and RoadDNA are two digital map products helping automated vehicles precisely locate themselves on the road and plan manoeuvres, even when travelling at high speeds. TomTom’s HD Map already covers the USA and Western Europe, with over 360,000km of highways and interstates mapped.

Leveraging its resource and capabilities in AI, Baidu has been developing HD maps since 2013, using smart technologies such as deep learning to help automate data processing and map creation. Earlier this year, it announced its open source autonomous driving platform, Apollo, which aims to build a collaborative ecosystem for companies to work together and to promote the development and popularisation of autonomous driving technology.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Huawei is accelerating intelligence
    April 9, 2025
    At MWC Barcelona 2025, Huawei released seven new smart transportation solutions and set out its philosophy for the use of AI to support safety and efficiency gains
  • Google maps the future of traffic and travel information?
    March 16, 2012
    Will the relentless growth of Google lead to it becoming the ultimate provider of travel information services? Huw Williams investigates Google’s strategy and David Crawford discovers what two principal rivals are doing to keep pace. In the first weeks of 2012 one company staked two divergent claims on the future of transport. One is the science fiction of only a decade ago, turned into reality: the driverless car. The other seems more prosaic, yet in its own way is just as significant a marker of the futur
  • Mobility digital twins for Italy from Yunex & Municipia
    March 1, 2024
    Focus is on reducing CO₂ emissions and enhancing the efficiency of urban traffic flow
  • TomTom secures traffic deal with Qoros Auto in China
    March 22, 2012
    TomTom, via its joint venture partner AutoNavi Holdings, has announce a seven year agreement with Qoros Auto, an international automotive corporation. The partners will deliver HD Traffic, marking the first real time traffic customer for the newly expanded joint venture. In 2013 the first cars, aimed at young metropolitan users, will hit the streets in China equipped with HD Traffic, providing drivers with accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date traffic information available.