South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. has teamed up with global mapping data and location services provider HERE Technologies to develop next-generation connected car solution to ensure lead in the heated contest in the self-driving vehicle industry.

LG Electronics said on Wednesday that it signed an agreement with HERE Technologies on the joint development of connected car solution that combines its own vehicle-use telematics technology and HERE Technologies’ high-precision mapping data.

According to LG Electronics, the connected car solution, which the two companies will aim to develop by the end of next year, provides real-time information on the surrounding environment by communicating traffic and surrounding information collected through the vehicle’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) sensor such as camera and radar and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) device via cloud server.

The solution, for example, provides real-time information of the exact starting location of congested junction by analyzing lane-based traffic volume and driving information of vehicles nearby, which has been difficult to achieve using existing mapping service.

HERE Technologies is owned by multiple entities including global automakers Audi AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG as well as U.S.-based global communications equipment maker Intel Corp.

The company provides three-dimensional high-precision map data to navigations loaded in 100 million or more vehicles around the world. There have been rumors that Chinese capital attempted to acquire HERE Technologies, but were stopped by the U.S. government.

HERE Technologies is headquartered in the Netherlands but most of its assets are based in Chicago, requiring approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

An unnamed official from LG Electronics said that it will strive to present a new solution for autonomous communication solution together with HERE Technologies that is known for its cutting edge mapping data technology. The company will also continue to introduce next-generation connected car parts to automakers seeking to respond to the era of autonomous vehicles, the official added.

Earlier, LG Electronics set up a joint research center with U.S.-based semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm Inc. in October, dedicating it to developing next-generation connected car and self-driving vehicle related technologies. It also announced recently that it has developed Korea’s first long-term evolution (LTE)-based V2X device and self-driving safety technology.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Lee Eun-joo

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