Here Technologies

key people	Mike Nefkens (CEO) Adeel Manzoor (CFO) Denise Doyle (Chief Data Officer)

industry	Mapping data GPS navigation software

owners	Volkswagen Group (2015–present) BMW (2015–present) Mercedes-Benz Group (2015–present) Intel (2017–present) Mitsubishi Corporation (2019–present) Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (2019–present) Continental AG

num employees	9,000 (2019)

parent	Navteq (1985–2007) Nokia (2007–2015)

Here Technologies (stylized and trade name as HERE and here) is a multinational group based in The Netherlands specialized in mapping technologies, location data, and related automotive services to individuals and companies. It is majority-owned by a consortium of German automotive companies (namely Audi, BMW, the Mercedes-Benz Group) and American semiconductor company Intel whilst other companies also own minority stakes. Its roots date back to U.S.-based Navteq in 1985, which was acquired by Finland-based Nokia in 2007.

Here captures location content such as road networks, buildings, parks and traffic patterns. It then sells or licenses that mapping content, along with map related navigation and location services to other businesses such as Alpine Electronics, Garmin, BMW, Oracle Corporation and Amazon.com. This third-party licensing constitutes the core of the firm's business.[1] The company is also working on self-driving technology.[2]

In addition, Here provides platform services to computers and smartphones through the Here WeGo app (formerly Nokia/Ovi Maps).[3][4] As of 2013 it has maps of about 200 countries, offers voice guided navigation, provides live traffic information, and has indoor maps available for about 49,000 unique buildings in 45 countries.[5] Here provides location services through its Here applications, and also for GIS and government clients and other providers, such as Microsoft Bing (from 2012 through 2020), Meta Platforms, Yahoo! Maps, and the Samsung Gear S2 (and earlier models) mapping app.[6][7]

History

Here has built its mapping and location business by acquiring location technology; the company is a combination of what was formerly Navteq and Nokia Maps.

Navteq

Navteq was an American company founded in 1985 as Karlin & Collins, Inc., later known as Navigation Technologies Corporation and eventually as Navteq. At the time of its acquisition by Nokia, Navteq was the largest maker of automotive-grade map data used in car navigation equipment.[8][9][10][11]

In October 2007, Nokia

Current ownership

The German consortium of Audi, BMW and Daimler initially held a 44% stake in the company.[45]

🇯🇵 Mitsubishi and NTT (30%) (via holding company COCO Tech Holding B.V.)
🇺🇸 Intel (15%)
🇩🇪 Bosch (5%)
🇩🇪 Continental (5%)
🇯🇵 Pioneer

Automotive services

HERE Auto

The 2016 Jaguar Cars XF and XJ models incorporate HERE map technology drive guidance in their in-car infotainment systems. All of the features of the HERE suite are available to the driver, including maps, navigation, and social sharing using Glympse. Another feature of HERE Auto is the ability to plan the journey from the Android or iOS app before entering the car. Country and region maps are also able to be downloaded directly to the flash-based storage of the HERE Auto system itself, much like the ability to store offline maps on devices using the Android/iOS HERE apps.[46][47]

HERE MapCare

HERE MapCare was first implemented with Volvo vehicles in 2009 and has since spread to at least 23 other manufacturers (such as Hyundai, Mazda and Mitsubishi) utilizing HERE maps data in their infotainment systems. HERE map data is updated for a period of around three years from the date of purchase of the vehicle and is performed at the time of service from the car dealer.

Consumer services

HERE WeGo

HERE WeGo, formerly Nokia Maps and HERE Maps, is a consumer mapping application that works on smartphones or through a web browser. It is currently available in 196 countries and its features include turn-by-turn walking navigation, offline availability, 3D landmarks and indoor Venue Maps for 100,000+ unique buildings in 87 countries. A favorites list shows the top 25 most popular places in the vicinity looking at positive reviews, search queries and other user data. The application is also integrated with an augmented reality technology called LiveSight that lets users hold up their phone to reveal information about the buildings including contact information, hours and reviews in their line of sight from the phone camera display.[61]

In November 2012, Here announced the decision to open up its location platform to all operating systems so that anyone with any kind of device could access it. With an open platform HERE broadens its reach and acquires more users, which in turn generates more data for its location cloud.[62][63] Here developed a Here Maps API for Android which is available to partners. Apps built with the Here Android API will be able to interact with extruded 3D buildings, search for specific buildings and preview their routes in detail.

Enterprise services

Utilization of HERE services

HERE provides mapping data and assistance to many customers in the enterprise sector. One of these services powered by HERE mapping data and geocoding is the FC.FrameLogic fuel control system by FrameLogic, which uses fuel probes installed in the vehicle fuel tank to detect discrepancies and ultimately save from three to ten percent on their fuel expenditures.[82] Another company making use of Here data is MapMechanics, whose Truckstops VRS solution engages Here real-time traffic and historical data patterns to plan ahead and factor in events such as transit strikes, to in turn re-route drivers.[83] Sygic is another truck company that uses Here map data for its truck navigation software, depending on its accuracy and reliability.[84] Other pertinent examples of companies using Here for their services are Aramex,[85] TimoCom,[86]

Content delivery

HERE draws on more than 80,000 data sources including a vehicle fleet, which collects data through panoramic cameras, position sensors and laser technology for 3D footprints. The cars have an array of cameras, which capture 360-degree street views, and lidar sensors, which capture 1.3 billion data points every minute. Another bank of high-resolution cameras capture signs such as speed limits and street names.[95] In November 2012, Nokia acquired Berkeley-based company Earthmine to further bolster its 3D street-level imagery processing capabilities.[96] In addition, HERE relies on local source data and input from map users to generate constant daily map updates, such as real-time traffic, turn by turn directions, public transportation routes and information about local business and attractions.

By 2013, four out of five cars globally with fully integrated in-dash navigation systems used HERE data. HERE supplies map content for Alpine, BMW, Mercedes, Garmin, Hyundai, Pioneer, Volkswagen and Toyota, among other car companies and enterprises.[97]

HERE also provides mapping data for popular apps to find and order taxis. These apps include Easy Taxi, MetroView and Grab Taxi, among others.[98]

Platform partnerships

HERE licenses its location platform to other major companies, including Amazon, Bing, Yahoo!, Flickr, SAP and Oracle. Each partner uses the HERE location platform, which is available to any business or screen, to optimise experiences for its own users depending on the particular context. Amazon, for example, uses the HERE platform for maps and geocoding, in Amazon Maps. In 2012, the platform computed 11 billion traffic probes a month, 80 million geocoding requests daily, 24 million route requests a day and more than 1 billion search queries in a year.[99]

External links

References

Paul Sawers. HERE launches XYZ, a geospatial data management and mapping platform VentureBeat, October 4, 2018, retrieved April 30, 2020^
Mark Bergen. Nobody Wants to Let Google Win the War for Maps All Over Again - Bloomberg Bloomberg.com, 21 February 2018, retrieved 12 July 2018^
Pino Bonetti. HERE: the next generation of location services

New technologies

Here also conducts work on various new technologies to improve traffic, mapping and the experience of driving. Listed below are recent prominent examples of these:

In August 2015, Here introduced a new traffic-jam warning system called Traffic Safety Warning. The system works in alerting the driver with a suitable time period to react to the fact that there is a traffic jam up ahead. Data is updated every minute and is yet another way in which data collected is used to the benefit and safety of drivers.[54]

In June 2015, Here published an interface specification named the Sensor Ingestion Interface Specification. This standard defines how sensor data gathered by vehicles on the road can be sent to the cloud to update maps on the fly. The premise of the technology is to allow for the collection of data to alert other cars on the road to traffic obstacles or accidents in the vicinity.[55] HERE has called for leading car manufacturers from across the world to promote its specification and call for a standardized data format, thereby leading to all consumers receiving the same traffic data reporting.[56]

Here also works in the field of automated vehicles, with the recent provision of its high-definition map data for manufacturers in testing their vehicles. The highly accurate mapped data of private test tracks provides these cars with a highly accurate navigation system to complement data collected from on-board sensors. Much like existing map data is collected for consumer driving, the same LiDAR technology is used to map these private test tracks along with the roads that are used for public testing.[57] HD Map data is also highly accurate, with accuracy to a level of 10 to 20 centimeters, and the collection of lane geometry is also part of the data collection task. Here makes approximately 2.7 million changes to its global map database every day.[58]

Also part of the field of autonomous vehicles and automated driving is the Live Roads technology. HERE is currently developing a technology that will be able to alert drivers of conditions such as weather to alert other drivers of possible hazards, or to avoid a particular area whilst driving. An example is the aggregation of data from windshield wipers and slipping tires to notify other drivers to avoid an ice-filled area. The company is also investigating Humanized Driving where data is collected on driving habits on roads, and provisioning this data to allow automated cars to follow how drivers behave (speed, traffic lights, etc.) when driving on certain roads.[59]

Here has also worked with SWARCO Group in developing technologies for speed guidance. Through the provision of traffic lights and management, traffic congestion and vehicle efficiency will be improved.[60]

Former products

Here on Windows

Here makes its location-based assets, such as offline maps, available for the Microsoft Windows platform through a dedicated Windows SDK.[70]

Because the suite runs on Windows, users can save their favorite destinations as live tiles to their start screen and the app will calculate routes based on current location. The suite is integrated so that users can access individual functions going from one app to the next without going back to the home screen. Favorites are saved to the cloud so that they can be accessed on all of the different applications.

In February 2013, Nokia announced that HERE Maps, HERE Drive and HERE Transit would be available on all Windows devices at the Windows Store.[71]

Here Drive

The HERE Drive app provided navigation designed for in-car driving in 94 countries. Its features include visual and audio speed limit warnings, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation with spoken street names (optional) in more than 60 countries in 50 different languages and offline availability. The user interface is designed for drivers, and map data includes 260 attributes such as turn restrictions, physical barriers and one-way streets. HERE Drive and HERE Drive+ have optional live traffic information where available, but both lack dynamic rerouting, which is restricted to everyday commuting in a few countries only and then does not come with voice guidance. HERE Drive is now integrated into the HERE WeGo app.[72]

Here Transit

HERE Transit was a public transportation service covering more than 700 cities in 50 countries. It combined bus, train, ferry, tram and walking information in one application. It was released in 2012 as Nokia Transit or Nokia Transport for Nokia Lumia before being developed for other platforms.[73][74][75] HERE Transit shut as a standalone app and it integrated into HERE WeGo.[72]

Here City Lens

HERE City Lens is augmented reality (AR) software that gives dynamic information, through the phone's camera display, about users' surroundings[76] such as shops, restaurants, and points of interest, shown as virtual signs overlaid on or above buildings. A commercial beta version was released in 2013.[77]

It also has free of charge turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation, HERE Drive 3.0 (earlier Nokia Drive), which can also be used without an Internet connection using preloaded maps.[78] It is also possible to de-clutter the surroundings: version 1.5 has a "Sightline" feature where users can narrow their view to just what is in the direct line of sight, making it easier to spot interesting places.

HERE City Lens is powered by Bing Maps, and Nokia introduced HERE Prime Place for listing.[79] The newest release has 3D icons and the ability to disable places which are not within the camera's line of sight.[80]

trade name	HERE
type	Private
former names	Karlin & Collins, Inc. (1985–87) Navigation Technologies Corporation (1987–2004) Navteq (2004–11) Nokia (Location & Commerce) (2011–12) Nokia (HERE) (2012–15)
founded	1985 (as Navteq) 2012 (as Here)
location city	Eindhoven
location country	Netherlands
area served	Worldwide

History

Navteq

Current ownership

Automotive services

HERE Auto

HERE MapCare

Consumer services

HERE WeGo

Enterprise services

Utilization of HERE services

Content delivery

Platform partnerships

See also

External links

References

Nokia Maps

Acquisitions and development under Nokia

Rebranding to HERE

German car makers' ownership

Here and other car manufacturers / mapping companies

New technologies

HERE Map Creator

Here XYZ

Former products

Here on Windows

Here Drive

Here Transit

Here City Lens

Here on Windows

Here Drive

Here Transit

Here City Lens

HERE Traffic Analytics

HERE Mobile SDK and HERE Data Lens