TomTom (TOM2), a global company that offers navigation products, and Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, have revealed that the two companies will be working on a new project to crowdsource high-definition map data.

As part of this new partnership, TomTom’s HD Map for autonomous vehicles will take advantage new data, generated through Qualcomm Technologies new chip that will be used in car sensors.

TomTom Autonomous Driving head Willem Strijbosch said: “We are building the cloud-based platform to make and maintain HD maps using a range of input sources, including crowdsourced data.

“We’re excited to explore the connectivity and compute capabilities of the Qualcomm Drive Data Platform to help map the world for the future of driving.”

Qualcomm has developed a platform for car sensor analysis called Drive Data, which delivers map snippets based on camera input.

Qualcomm Technologies automotive vice-president Nakul Duggal said: “Qualcomm Technologies is showing that an affordable and easy-to-integrate mapping solution for autonomous vehicles is possible.

"Qualcomm Technologies is showing that an affordable and easy-to-integrate mapping solution for autonomous vehicles is possible."

“The Qualcomm Drive Data Platform supports autonomous driving functions in the car, and we are pleased to make this technology available for HD Map providers such as TomTom, as well as automakers, shared mobility service providers and the automotive industry at large.”

TomTom’s HD Map, including RoadDNA enables autonomous vehicles to accurately locate themselves on the road and plan maneuvers.

Qualcomm map snippets can be used by TomTom’s HD Map for maintenance purpose.

Image: An example of map data. Photo: courtesy of TomTom International BV.