Toyota enters partnership to build HD maps for AVs from space

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD), technology company Maxar Technologies and NTT Data are working together to build high-definition (HD) maps for autonomous vehicles (AV) using satellite imagery. TRI-AD carried out an analysis, saying that current HD maps cover less than 1% of the global road network and there is a need to broaden the coverage of urban areas and local roads before AVs can become a mainstream mobility technology. A HD map created from satellite imagery would all
May 3, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
1686 Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD), technology company Maxar Technologies and NTT Data are working together to build high-definition (HD) maps for autonomous vehicles (AV) using satellite imagery.


TRI-AD carried out an analysis, saying that current HD maps cover less than 1% of the global road network and there is a need to broaden the coverage of urban areas and local roads before AVs can become a mainstream mobility technology.

A HD map created from satellite imagery would allow the driving software to compare multiple data sources and signal the car to take action to stay safe, the company adds.

Utilising Maxar’s Geospatial Big Data Platform, imagery from the company’s satellite imagery library will be fed into NTT Data’s specialised algorithms using artificial intelligence to extract information to generate the road network. TRI-AD will then make HD maps available for delivery from its cloud into Toyota test vehicles.

Mandali Khalesi, vice president of automated driving at TRI-AD, says advances in electronics and aerospace engineering are leading to higher resolutions and more frequent updates of global imagery from space-based assets.

“Additionally, machine learning is helping automate the discovery and integration of semantic relationships between road elements within image data,” Khalesi adds.

NTT Data, an IT services provider, will use its artificial intelligence and enhanced image-processing resources to expand the coverage of HD maps.

Katsuichi Sonoda, vice president and head of NTT Data’s social infrastructure solution sector, says: “In the future, we hope to map worldwide road networks from space using our enhanced image-processing expertise.”

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • More openness - the simple answer to transport's data issues
    October 22, 2018
    Public transit agencies create a lot of data – but using it constructively to solve transportation issues has been a problem. Ben Winokur and Luke Segars think they have the answer: greater openness. Today, more people are connected through smartphones than ever before - and they’re using them for more than texting and calling. People are searching for jobs on their devices, dating, shopping and even managing their finances. But Forbes reports that only a select few companies leverage all the technology at
    Read More
  • Inmarsat’s heavenly solution for connected vehicles
    October 11, 2016
    Inmarsat is at the ITS World Congress with some good news for vehicle manufacturers: Satellite communications can offer fast, over-the-air updating of connected and autonomous vehicles world-wide. Joel Schroeder, vice president of Inmarsat’s connected car program, said: “If the vehicle manufacturer discovers a problem or there is a security breach, then they need to fix it quickly. But the traditional way is to trace and contact all the owners of the affected vehicles and schedule visits to the dealer – an
    Read More
  • Kerb your enthusiasm, warns Passport
    March 4, 2019
    Dynamic kerbside management is crucial if urban authorities are to address increasingly chaotic situations caused by the gig economy and mobility innovation, says Adam Warnes at Passport Demand for the kerbside is growing and changing and it’s no surprise when you consider the recent innovations within the mobility industry. For starters, there are new modes of transport, including ride-shares, electric vehicles (EVs), dockless cycles, last-mile consolidations and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Secondly, the
    Read More
  • Driverless Russia: Look – no hands!
    March 26, 2020
    Russia is betting on the importance of driverless cars as the country’s transport system develops in the years to come.
    Read More

Highlighted Content