Skip to main content

Toyota to build HD maps for automated vehicles using camera data

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development and telematics company Carmera are conducting a ‘proof of concept’ project to develop camera-based automation of high definition (HD) maps for roads in Japan. Toyota says the project will help realise its automated mapping platform, an open software concept which supports automated driving by combining data gathered from vehicles of participating companies to generate HD maps. Cameras which use Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) components will be equipped to th
March 5, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
1686 Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development and telematics company Carmera are conducting a ‘proof of concept’ project to develop camera-based automation of high definition (HD) maps for roads in Japan.


Toyota says the project will help realise its automated mapping platform, an open software concept which supports automated driving by combining data gathered from vehicles of participating companies to generate HD maps.

Cameras which use Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) components will be equipped to the company’s test vehicles to collect data and images over several months from areas in downtown Tokyo. This information will then be processed on Carmera’s real-time platform to automatically generate HD map data.

Additionally, dashcam drive records will demonstrate automated map generation from a broader range of sources which do not have TSS.  

According to Toyota, combining these techniques with digital maps available today will provide even more reliable road information to driverless vehicles. Also, generating HD maps based on data acquired from commercially available vehicles will enable automated driving on all roads, the manufacturer says.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Now is the time for V2X in tolling
    July 9, 2025
    FTE, Indra, Audi & Qualcomm Technologies demonstrate C-V2X tolling in Florida
  • North Florida signals coordinated approach to congestion management
    October 7, 2013
    David Crawford investigates innovative congestion management in Florida. The largest US city by area is well into the implementation of an ambitious congestion management system (CMS) on the scale of those of higher-profile centres such as Seattle and San Francisco. Regional agency the North Florida Transportation Planning Organisation (NFTPO) aims to ensure that commuters on major highways in Jacksonville can rely on a minimum 72km/h (45mph) driving speed in normal conditions.
  • Using electricity to power road freight
    October 22, 2014
    Next year sees the start of the first real-life electrified road system for transporting freight. Worldwide freight transportation is predicted to double by 2050 but despite expansion of global rail infrastructure only one third of this additional freight transport can be handled by trains. This means that the largest proportion of freight transport will continue to be by road and as a result, experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050.
  • Sound synthesis makes hybrid and electric vehicles safer
    January 20, 2012
    The growing popularity of hybrids and electric vehicles gives rise to new safety issues in urban environments, as many of the aural cues associated with engine noise can be missing. The solution is to intelligently make vehicles noisier. The rise in popularity of hybrids and Electric Vehicles (EVs) is a result of environmental pressures, shifts in taxation and emerging technologies for batteries and motors. Competition among the car manufacturers means these vehicles need to be cost effective to buy and ope