Bosch, TomTom Ready HD Maps for Autonomous Cars

Robert Bosch GmbH and TomTom International BV plan to launch a high-resolution mapping system in Europe and the U.S. by 2020 for vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities.

The partners have been developing the maps, which can pinpoint a vehicle’s location on the road within a few centimeters, since July 2015. The technology uses Bosch’s radar sensors to create a precise “road signature” based on localized information.

Radar can detect moving objects as far as 270 yards away. By comparison, vehicles that rely solely on camera-based sensors max out at 165 yards, according to Bosch.

The supplier also is developing a next-generation radar technology that can detect static objects to create a more complete representation of a vehicle’s surroundings. The data will be supplemented by video cameras and other vehicle sensors.

Radar systems also are more reliable than cameras at night and in low-visibility conditions, Bosch notes. Another purported advantage: radar uses half the bandwidth (five kilobytes per km) of video-based systems to transmit data to cloud-based processors.