Intermap, Siemens collaborate on 3-D technology

Intermap Technologies Corp. and Siemens VDO are jointly developing products for intelligent transportation system applications. Intermap is creating a worldwide three-dimensional geospatial database called NEXTMap and the firms plan to integrate 3-D road vector data from NEXTMap with Siemens’ map-based predictive automotive safety applications. Intermap expects to finish mapping Germany in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the remainder of Western Europe by the end of 2007. The U.S. will be mapped concurrently with the European initiative and is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Eric DesRoche, Intermap’s senior vice president of strategic business development, said 3-D road vector databases will enable future active safety, driver assistance, and navigation systems that predict what lies ahead and alert drivers of impending hazards. Advance predictions of road geometries will be a component of visualization devices, vehicle fuel performance enhancement systems, and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).