Automakers today are pouring time and manpower into developing the user experience and improving the way vehicle occupants interact with in-car technology. Increasingly, many of the most popular features draw on location data—think of navigation instructions and charging station options. This is where US software specialist Mapbox can help. It offers a maps and location platform to power a wide range of location-aware applications. The company’s data, software-development kits (SDKs) and application programming interfaces (APIs) are already assisting more than 3.5 million registered developers and nearly 40% of Fortune 500 companies, many of which are involved in the automotive sector. Customers include the likes of Toyota, BMW, General Motors and Rivian.
“Location is at the nexus of every part of the automotive transformation: electrification, automated driving, and a vehicle architecture that is defined by connected software as opposed to hardware,” says Mapbox Co-Founder Will White. Automotive World caught up with White to hear more about how the company is facilitating location features within the rapidly evolving automotive ecosystem.