Microsoft collaborates on digital maps

Collection capabilities to benefit from relationship with Microsoft

NAVTEQ, a provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, today announced a new technology agreement with Microsoft. The agreement will allow NAVTEQ to more rapidly deploy innovative collection capabilities and accelerate the collection, creation and storage of 3D map data and visuals.

NAVTEQ and Microsoft have agreed to work together to support technological advancements in this area, through which NAVTEQ will also provide Microsoft Corp. with 3D map data and visuals to power new mapping features.

With this new relationship NAVTEQ elevates its alliance with a trusted collaborator to help advance important 3D collection technologies which, when integrated into NAVTEQ’s broader proprietary data collection process, will support the capture of a range of advanced navigable map features at an exceptional level of accuracy and scale.

NAVTEQ will be integrating these new technologies into its field collection vehicles and the company’s full roster of customers will be able to benefit from this technology deployment.

This will accelerate not only the efficient integration of 3D visuals into the NAVTEQ map, but also new product development which will reap benefits across the full range of NAVTEQ’s product portfolio.

Microsoft will be able to deploy the visuals generated through these efforts to their consumers via Bing Maps.

“Microsoft is extremely enthusiastic about this new chapter in its relationship with NAVTEQ and is focused on bringing the mapping experience alive for our consumers, using street level visuals powered by NAVTEQ,” said Erik Jorgensen, corporate vice president of MSN at Microsoft.

“The opportunity to work more closely with NAVTEQ and leverage our respective technological strengths for the overall advancement of this type of data collection is a true ‘win- win’ for both companies, and for consumers,” said Jorgensen.

“NAVTEQ continues to believe that the quality of data collection, which provides the building blocks for the underlying digital map in any navigation or location-enabled device, is paramount to a superior user experience,” stated Cliff Fox, executive vice president, NAVTEQ Maps.

“Microsoft shares this view, and openly welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with NAVTEQ in new ways to accelerate the development of technologies which we believe are crucial to the growing expectations of consumers using NAVTEQ maps,” Fox concluded.