88 Nokia Here collection vehicle v2.0 ride-along (video) By Myriam Joire Myriam Joire posted Aug 22nd, 2013 at 9:13 AM What do the Lumia 920 , Surface Pro , Velodyne LIDAR , NovAtel GPS and Jetta TDI wagon all have in common? They're all essential parts of the next generation Nokia Here collection vehicle. When Here was announced last fall, we checked out v1.0 of the car which featured an elaborate but clunky set of sensors and cameras. That's also when Nokia announced it was acquiring Earthmine , a Berkeley-based 3D-mapping company. Nine months later, we're seeing the results of this collaboration with v2.0 of the collection vehicle. It's a simpler and more advanced setup which provides much improved image quality. Nokia recently invited us to take ride in a next MENU
Transcript
88
Nokia Here collection vehicle v2.0 ride-along (video)
By Myriam JoireMyriam Joire posted Aug 22nd, 2013 at 9:13 AM
What do the Lumia 920, Surface Pro, Velodyne LIDAR, NovAtel GPS and Jetta TDI wagon all have in common?They're all essential parts of the next generation Nokia Here collection vehicle. When Here was announced lastfall, we checked out v1.0 of the car which featured an elaborate but clunky set of sensors and cameras. That'salso when Nokia announced it was acquiring Earthmine, a Berkeley-based 3D-mapping company. Nine monthslater, we're seeing the results of this collaboration with v2.0 of the collection vehicle. It's a simpler and moreadvanced setup which provides much improved image quality. Nokia recently invited us to take ride in a next
Nokia's John Ristevski -- Head of Reality Capture and Processing for Here -- walked us through the differentcomponents that make up the next generation collection vehicle. It all starts with a VW Jetta TDI wagon orSubaru Forester / Crosstrek. The former is attractive for its fuel economy, the latter for its AWD drivetrain andground clearance. Unlike the first generation equipment -- which required modifications to the roof plus theinstallation of a wheel sensor and cabinet full of gear -- v2.0 uses a common Thule roof rack and a singleruggedized case. As such, it only takes two people about 30 minutes to convert a car (like a rental, for example)into a collection vehicle. The collapsible mast includes (from top to bottom) a NovAtel GPS antenna, VelodyneHDL-32E LIDAR sensor, four 16.2-megapixel cameras each with 180-degree field-of-view and a NovAtel SPAN-CPT inertial measurement unit. A skid prevents any low-hanging cables from catching the GPS antenna andLIDAR sensor. The new imaging system provides much higher resolution, color fidelity and dynamic range thanbefore.
The signal from these sensors is routed to a ruggedized case that fits in the passenger footwell and connects tothe car battery. It contains an x86-based computer running Linux, 1TB 3.5-inch removable SATA hard driveand 12V backup battery. A Nokia Lumia 920 and Microsoft Surface Pro (mounted on a stand bolted to the seatrails) complete the package -- the former is powered by a standard USB car charger, the latter by theaforementioned box. The phone acts as an LTE hotspot / in-vehicle WiFi network for the tablet and the Linuxcomputer. Special software developed in-house (called Route PhD) is installed on the Surface Pro to control thex86 system. The driver receives a route over LTE and the software gives them spoken navigation instructionsfor an efficient route that minimizes overlap (there's typically about 30% redundancy on purpose). After turningthe data collection on, they simply follow the navigation instructions to complete the entire route. When thehard drive is almost full, the software notifies the driver who drops it off with FedEx or UPS. The LTEconnection is also used for status updates and fleet tracking.
Nokia Here collection vehicles v2.0 are now being deployed in 27 countries across five continents, so the nexttime you see one roaming around your neighborhood, you'll know exactly what's happening inside.
I love Google maps, and I'm excited to see what Nokia has in store. It will give Google much needed competition inthe map market where it has none (no apple maps doesn't count) and in the end we consumers will win.
@Biscuitsandtea driving all day? how is it different than a taxi driver, I bet you can make more moneyas a taxi driver. buy a surface and put it on your dash so you wont get bored.
1 Like Reply
18 hours agoC38S
@spakbaz But you travel to a different city every few days this way.
1 Like Reply
13 hours agoDave
@C38S @spakbaz become a bus driver
Like Reply
I've recently moved to Android after using Nokia and Blackberry (together) for years. I use Google map on my S4now. However, every time it comes to use GPS/Nav I miss using Nokia map very much. To me, nothing comesclose to Nokia off-line map. I'd still like to use my Nokia N8 than using Galaxy S4 (with Google maps) when itcomes to navigation.
2 Like Reply
Google Maps is the standard. Everything else feels like some kirf.
1 Like Reply
2 days agoKlevisYmeri
@YWeeke3802 Not according to the overwhelming number of businesses. Google Maps maybe thebest for the average Joe who does not know better.
@KlevisYmeri @Celz Correct.. Now about that joke..
Like Reply
@YWeeke3802 "Standard" is only a temporary thing.
Like Reply
@YWeeke3802 No, I disagree. Everyone who crosses national borders when traveling, use Here offline maps. And, thereafter exclusively Here maps.
Like Reply
@YWeeke3802 In case you didn't know NAVTEQ (owned by Nokia) is the world's largest map andnavigation software provider. Google Maps is the standard indeed! LOL
6 Like Reply
Google may be the standard, but Nokia maps is the premium level
Like Reply
@YWeeke3802 Google provides "OK maps". There are good offline maps on the market. They evencome for free with Nokia Lumia devices.
You can use Google maps offline as well. Worked quite well while I was in Sidney recently
https://support.google.com/gmm/answer/3246076
1 Like Reply
5 hours agobuldozr
@stilltrue That's what I call "OK maps" with mild derision. When you want to gofrom one place to another, you've got to browse through the entire pre-plannedroute and cache the areas. Make sure not to leave any blind spots! When you wantto make an unplanned detour, you are at the mercy of your data connection andany charges applying to that.
With Here Drive, you just download the entire country and go.
Like Reply
Do you see the word Nokia anywhere on this car?
1 Like Reply
I wonder if the Lumia 920 just works as a glorified LTE modem/Wi-Fi access point, or do they also use Here Driveto get around. Then they feed the new data into the maps, and close the loop to get around further :D
Like Reply
Didn't Google do this b4 android was on the map?
Like Reply
Nokia maps = free offline turn-by-turn navigation. It is like a garmin GPS navigator. You don't need a data plan,nor need to pre-cache your paths.
24 Like Reply
2 days agoNester
@DaveLee
What's awesome about the Nokia 520/521, offline maps, GPS navigation, will take a 64 GB micro SD for
@theflew @Celz Sprint has LTE towers in Big Bear over a mile up in themountains.. And you only need to have coverage when you start your trip. I'm justsaying the number of people who need offline maps is extremely low. Much lessthan 1%.
Like Reply
@Celz
Have you ever been abroad? I know that if you are in US than it may be a bit hardbecause you have only borders with Canada and Mexico (and in Canada you stillcan communicate in English). I wander if the unlimited data provided by UScarriers is still free while abroad. But for example in Europe it is not even if youtravel within so called European Union.
Now imagine within 2h flight you are in a middle of a different country wherecompletely different language is spoken. You don't know the public transport at alland you want to move around. Of course since ages people did this without smart-phones but why not use the technology we have? So with offline here maps andnavigation I can get directions (so I don't have to buy a map and I'm notdependent on poor communication skills in foreign language). But what is evengreater and I think Nokia should advertise more is Here Transit. One app whichhas timetables of public transport in most cities and it navigate you through themost optimal connection (so you don't have to know the apps used by local peopleand the apps almost always are in a native language so another obstacle).
So Celz you are totally wrong because in fact a lot of people do care.
2 Like Reply
@Celz @theflew So you are saying 99% of people have data plans? I was just ona drive yesterday and my friends phone had hardly any reception and we couldn'tload a map. Just because you are a prick from California and have receptioneverywhere doesn't mean that everywhere in the country does.
Like Reply
@FridrichvonKampen @Celz I'm right.. This is an American blog from anAmerican perspective. The blog has a substantial foreign presence which is verybeneficial. You are right from many foreign readers perspective. But I can't look atyour username and see that you are from a different country.
@Biscuitsandtea @Celz @theflew 99% of people who rely on smartphonenavigation have data plans yes. And how am I a prick because I said that I don'tknow anyone who needs offline maps. Nokia is a European company that caters toEuropean users first and terribly neglected American consumers for years. Googleis an American company that caters to American users first and sometimes neglectsome countries.
This blog is American. If Google Maps sucks in your country say what yourcountry is. You can't just say it sucks period. Because for a majority of readers andemployees of this site that is not true.
I'm glad Nokia is innovating and I'm even more glad that have finally stoppedignoring my country. I was excited when the N950 came out..
Like Reply
@Celz @Biscuitsandtea @theflew Much less than 1%? Oh the lols, Celz you have no idea about the spatial industrydo you. Its not just all smartphone, think website, automotive, government.
NAVTEQ (An American company) was purchased by Nokia some years back andcontinue to make maps globally. They still cater to you and all your (and my) American friends, they still employAmericans in America to do this. They just have a new name, HERE Maps.
Sadly as an sheltered American you are oblivious to the rest of the world, one inwhich I and many others like me travel often, and rely on offline map servicessuch as on the Lumia's as data roaming can easily run in to the thousands ofdollars. Not to mention the poor Google coverage and accuracy in parts of Europe andespecially Asia.
You make the rest of us Americans look like idiots when you post dribble like youjust have. Leave the intelligent conversation to the adults who know what they are talkingabout.
Like Reply
Poor Google coverage in Europe? That's a news for me and I live in Europe (UK,Greece) - everyone I know uses Google maps.
"I'm right.. This is an American blog from an American perspective"
You are so wrong. Even if it is American blog it has wider perspective than youthink. Just go to page www.engadget.com/about and read it. They even have anEuropean editors section. Or try to type "Europe" in search box. I bet you will finda lot of news which exceeds your narrow "American perspective". No offence.
Cheers
Like Reply
Why not using Google Maps and just concentrate on your Mobile Devices?
2 Like Reply
2 days agofocker
@Pentium Why settle for something inferior if you already own the best map service with NavteqMaps.
23 Like Reply
2 days agoPentium
@focker @Pentium to save some money, Nokia is not doing great....
2 Like Reply
2 days ago
2 days ago
focker
OLEME
@Pentium @focker Navteq is one of the divisions that still turns a profit forNokia.
15 Like Reply
@Pentium @focker as your name says, you are behind c2 and c2d, its theiseries now btw.
@Pentium @focker Just for you to know Many companies using Nokia Mapsincluding Yahoo, Microsoft and there are many devices out there use Nokia Maps.In my opinion its par with google Maps somewhat better.
1 Like Reply
@focker @Pentium Actually Navteq loses money for Nokia. It's a greatplatform with 80% market-share in maps and I fully endorse it but this point justneed to be corrected.
8 Like Reply
@spakbaz @Pentium @focker I think it's always better outside the USA.Google maps is bad in my country.
2 Like Reply
@sgad @focker @Pentium It depends how you look at it. They loose moneybecause of the accelerated amortization on the $8.1 billion acquisition of Navteqin 2008.
4 Like Reply
@Pentium @focker something inferior the world is not limited to 5 countriesyou know right?
Like Reply
@focker lol, you just busted a GAAP in their ass...
1 Like Reply
Because Google did use it in the beginning and found it lacking and now Nokia is trying tocatch up even coping the cars. Its Nokia trying to catch-up not Google. And Waze was justintegrated with Google maps - that gives you far better real time info then anything else.
@Pentium Because isn't competition a good thing? Besides, in my city, Google Maps isn't up to dateon certain things, whereas Here maps is (and vice versa).
7 Like Reply
2 days ago
18 hours ago
Pentium
C38S
@DawsonPearse @Pentium sure thing, I'm with you...but I mean for Nokia it's a badtiming.
Like Reply
2 days agoDawsonPearse
@Pentium @DawsonPearse Well not really, it's more of a differentiation.They are trying to bring something unique to their phones. It's just veryunfortunate that they are still so unknown in North America as far as a brandname goes.
2 Like Reply
@DawsonPearse @Pentium Google maps takes me on dirt roads instead of mainhighways in rural Australia, when it actually finds a road. It has a paddock mapped in mytown as a road. Nokia maps on the other hand has a better grasp on these roads, however theSymbian routing algorithms aren't doing me much favours lately.
Like Reply
@Pentium Google Maps doesn't give your free offline turn-by-turn navigation. Nokia's superiorMap/Navigation has been the most important feature that attracts users to buy Nokia phones.
5 Like Reply
@Pentium 4/5 cars are powered by Nokia maps, so why doesn't Google just concentrate on searchbusiness and let the map business for true professionals? All serious users like Fedex and UPS rely onNokia maps, not Google maps. I wonder why?
@MartyX @Pentium All I meant that Nokia should concentrate on one thing, and I didn'tknow this information :)I didn't know that Navteq belong to Nokia...and starting a new Map Business at this time is awrong idea.
Like Reply
2 days ago
2 days ago
20 hours ago
Darkness690
dnensel
Pentium
@Pentium @MartyX It's not a new map business. They rebranded Nokia Mapsas Here.
1 Like Reply
@Pentium @MartyX OMG someone on the internet admitting their error.Congrats.
anyway, yes Navteq has been around for a long time and is the market leader inmap data in fact IIRC google originally used Navteq data on google maps.
7 Like Reply
@dnensel @Pentium @MartyX lol, it depends on the person :)
Like Reply
Really? In some countries and only if you chose that overpriced package maybe. Most of thecars in the world do not have built in nav system actually.Speaking of cars, the best one(consumer reports highest rating, highest safety etc.) all electric Tesla S is using ... Googlemaps on 20 inch dashboard.
Like Reply
5 hours agobuldozr
@stilltrue That's probably because a Tesla is never found far from an electriccharging station, which still tend to be located in areas of dense cell coverage, andonly in the US (meaning nobody takes your arm and leg for data traffic whenroaming abroad).
![arXiv:2003.07969v1 [cs.RO] 17 Mar 2020...GNSS system, four HDL-32E Velodyne 3D-lidar scanners, 6 Point Grey 1.3 MP Cameras arranged on the rooftop for 360-degree coverage and 1 Pointgrey](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5f1ed3cb876f7d03ac2a4762/arxiv200307969v1-csro-17-mar-2020-gnss-system-four-hdl-32e-velodyne-3d-lidar.jpg)
![Static Calibration and Analysis of the Velodyne HDL-64E S2 ... · individual LiDAR points from the planar constraints given by Equation (2), is given in for example, [8] or [10] and](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/5c63401209d3f25a3a8b4947/static-calibration-and-analysis-of-the-velodyne-hdl-64e-s2-individual-lidar.jpg)
