GeoMate: AI-Powered Mapping for Smart Mobility
HD MAPPING: HOW SIMPLE DETAILS LEAD TO GREAT SUCCESSES
HD Mapping is the next step in location intelligence, creating a rapid and detailed construction of the urban landscape. This post dives into the specifics of how it seeks to revolutionize the market.
In our increasingly interconnected world, transportation is a critical aspect of daily life. We spend most of our time, both professionally and recreationally, planning where to go and how to get there. While we’ve seen countless innovations in speed, efficiency, and energy, it seems as though our antiquated navigation continues to hold us back.
After years of stagnation, High Definition (HD) maps have finally begun entering the mainstream, allowing for a more integrative and detail-oriented navigation experience. Promoting safe, efficient and sustainable urban mobility, this new innovation impacts consumer movement in a number of ways.
Here’s how.
HOW HD MAPS PREDICT THE PATH AHEAD
HD Mapping employs novel technologies like aerial imagery and GPS to construct navigation plans that include advanced details such as road boundaries and lane placement. To put it another way, it’s not just a sketch that maps a path from point A to B, but rather a full reconstruction of the built environment.
We trained our system through machine learning to extract linear and vertical features from the road. These include anything from signage to boundaries and other steerage indicators that a sentient operator would follow at the wheel. Using these indicators, we create a digital twin of the environment that the systems within the automated vehicle would be able to recognize.
Historically, one of the obstacles for HD mapping technology has been the lack of performance per dollar spent. Relying on manual development and analysis, legacy solutions simply no longer provide the value today demands. By contrast, GeoMate streamlines this process by leveraging AI and geospatial data. That way, we can ensure that maps are affordably developed with care and consistency.
TOMORROW'S MAPS FOR TODAY'S INDUSTRY
The most common industrial applications for this new technology lie in the forward-thinking world of autonomous vehicles and delivery services. These new transport methods are the vanguard technology of the next industrial revolution, after all. However, in order to integrate within existing infrastructure, access to precise location data in a timely manner is essential. That’s where HD mapping comes in.
Traditional transport relies on human input, which is cost-heavy and has potential for error. Conversely, automated solutions and geospatial data allow for seamless path planning and navigation from start to finish. Moreover, using our patented process, we map medium-sized cities in a mere 7-10 days, with accuracy up to 3 centimeters.
On top of that, a major advantage is the extensive feature set available. For one, maps also contain the necessary datasets to eliminate the need for a controlling actor in the vehicle. Thanks to machine learning and geospatial imaging, the sensors on the vehicle recognize minute details on the road such as lane boundaries and even signage. Moreover, maps can be made more affordable by eliminating costly technologies such as LiDAR and automating the process with artificial intelligence.
VIVIDLY MAPPING YOUR COMMUNITY
While HD mapping technology is historically associated with the AV industry, the applications available are actually quite broad. Community leaders use the geospatial data we provide to avoid zoning issues and gridlock, for example.
For instance, city planning and development projects can stand to gain a significant advantage in terms of information management. When installing new ridesharing or micromobility services like e-scooters, this technology maps life’s movements down to bare centimetres. As a result, through the identification of areas best suited for active transit within existing frameworks, HD mapping allows for more sound investment into public goods.
In fact, the detail drawn from it empowers planners to keep a precise inventory and location of city assets. Local governments are then able to identify the exact location where they’ve placed their assets. As a result, stop signs, fire hydrants and other frameworks that underpin transit in urban areas are accounted for.
INTERESTED IN LOCATION INTELLIGENCE? WE CAN HELP!
With numerous applications for both community and industry, it is clear that HD mapping is the future of navigation in an urban setting. By boosting efficiency and security, this technology is poised to reinvent transit as we know it.
At GeoMate, we want to ensure that urban mobility is efficient, flexible, and accessible to all. Whether you’re travelling on your toes or your tires, our scalable HD maps allow the user to map not only the journey, but the world in which it takes place.
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