Thomson Reuters
Mobileye is based in Israel.
- Intel's Mobileye has joined with Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency.
- Mobileye and Ordnance Survey will combine geospatial maps of the island nation with Mobileye's self-driving data.
- The results will be extremely detailed maps that can be used by clients such as utilities and telecommunications firms.
On Monday, Mobileye chose CES in Las Vegas to announce a partnership in Great Britain.
Characterizing the deal as an "agreement to bring high-precision location data to UK agencies and businesses," Mobileye demonstrated how the huge amounts of data collected by self-driving technologies can be applied to unexpected challenges.
The partnership is between Mobileye, an Israel-based startup acquired by Intel in 2017, and Ordnance Survey, a British government agency that has been around since 1745 and has responsibility for detailed mapping of the island nation.
"The deal demonstrates the utility of mapping innovation beyond future autonomous vehicles," Mobileye said in a statement.
"It is a prime example of how Mobileye's unique mapping capabilities can extend the value of location data to businesses in new market segments, such as smart cities. The key lies in making such data available to businesses and governments in a way that is anonymized for privacy."
Ordnance Survey via Wikicommons
An Ordnance Survey map.
As various business models develop around self-driving vehicles, companies have begun to realize that the data they gather could be as valuable as operating autonomous taxi or delivery services - and maybe more so. The data has become a new commodity that can be refined in ways that are useful.
In the case of the Mobileye-Ordnance partnership, maps of extreme precision can be created and offered to customers such as utilities and telecoms; these clients need to know exactly where underground and above-ground infrastructure overlap.
"They've never had high-level-enough, above-ground maps, relative to what's underground," Jack Weast, a Mobileye vice-president, told Business Insider.
He added that the partnership opens up new lines of revenue and provides a means to make money off data being captured by vehicles equipped with Mobileye tech.
The deal goes beyond monetization, however. Ultimately, Mobileye and Intel want to create a better urban experience and improve safety.
"Using maps to improve operations between businesses and cities will help bring us closer to the realization of smart cities and safer roads," Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua said in a statement.
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