HERE Technologies For A Smoother Journey

The addition of location services is an exciting and important component of many of today’s systems modernisation projects. Over the past few months, the Code Matters Spatial category has been focussing on Microsoft Bing Maps and we’ve been providing information about new features and ‘how-to’ blogs to assist developers in getting to grips with location technology. We’re keen to widen our coverage of this topic so we’ll be featuring solutions from other vendors too, such as those provided by HERE Technologies. In the months ahead, we will be bringing you news and developer focussed blogs covering HERE mapping technologies.

Introducing HERE Technologies

HERE has been in business in various guises since 1985. It started life as Navteq, was later acquired by Nokia and is now mostly owned by German automotive companies which is hardly surprising given the importance of map technology to that particular industry sector. HERE uses its technology for its own mapping solutions and they also make it available for others to use, such as Microsoft.

HERE’s portfolio includes a range of products and SDKs, many of which are traffic and travel related. I was quick to spot their Road Roughness product which classifies road networks using the International Roughness Index. The data, which also identifies other obstacles such as bumps and dips, has been captured by in-car sensors. This and other similar products could help prevent delivery vehicles coming to grief in the lanes of Devon where Grey Matter is based, especially as many of the rural roads have poor surfaces and are unsuitable for some of the vehicles which attempt to navigate them.

HERE technology drives many of today’s leading location  aware applications and services

HERE technologies are built into many Oracle products such as their Supply Chain and Transportation Management solutions. HERE technology is also playing a key role in the creation of smart cities which will provide opportunities for businesses to innovate and modernise, which in turn should help keep developers busy. The HERE APIs and SDKs fall into a number of categories as summarised below.

JavaScript API
REST APIs and Platform Extensions
Mobile SDKs (Android and iOS)
Automotive

This page will give you a good idea of the extensive range of APIs available across the various platforms listed above.

There is also the HERE Open Location Platform which consists of two development environments for Enterprise and Mobility solutions. Oracle’s Transportation Management Cloud uses the platform to help users visualise the impact of shipment decisions on logistic plans and costs.

Grey Matter has built up expertise to help customers arrive at the most appropriate and economic solution for the technology that best meets the demands of projects involving location services. The Mapping Team can assist with your HERE enquiries and can be reached on +44 (0)1364 655 133 or email: [email protected]

To find out more about working with HERE APIs, please keep an eye on Code Matters as we cover this subject in more depth in the months ahead.