Volkswagen, TomTom Partner on Automated Driving

Volkswagen AG has signed a memorandum of understanding with Amsterdam-based TomTom International BV to co-develop automated driving systems.

The companies will work on the highly accurate digital mapping necessary for such capabilities. They note that current in-car navigation systems lack the precision and up-to-date content of such elements as lane markings and traffic signals, which will be needed to support so-called highly automated driving.

TomTom says the companies will focus on developing a navigation data standard to create scalable solutions that won't require costly hardware to use.