In 2015 a consortium was formed between major manufacturers Audi, BMW and Daimler. It was formed to acquire “HERE” a location & mapping service from ’90’s mobile phone giant Nokia. The deal was reportedly worth an eye watering $3.1 billion.
Speculation was rife as to why the consortium was formed for this takeover. Talk amongst most centered around the short term benefits to pre-existing technologies, whilst addressing the recent & large threat from external industry giants Amazon and Google, with their own autonomous motoring additions in recent years.
However, it would seem that the ambitious & clever consortium not only had eyes for the mapping service & the benefits this can bring in the immediate future for their GPS & autonomous driving ventures, but also playing a crucial role in connected mobility services.

The Reality Lens technology developed by “HERE”, offers more than google maps in the way that it will be able to relay the reality lens data live, High-Definition images direct to users. This could be used to potentially alert the appropriate authorities of an accident, saving time and confusion.

Other companies could use this data in different ways, e.g. enabling utility companies to see as well as precisely measure, overhead power lines or to assess potholes and other pavement imperfections. And when it is compared to GPS, the accuracy in pinpointing user’s location is within “10 to 20 centimetres” according to their official site.