Mercedes- Benz and Google have formed a partnership to create an exclusive navigation system for the German automaker. The customized in-built navigation system will use geospatial and Google Maps navigation data. The company has decided to build this in-house navigation system to provide its customers with reliable and accurate navigational data combined with the luxury and feel of the brand Mercedes. 

This partnership between Mercedes and Google is a part of the company’s long-term strategy to develop and create luxurious digital and AI innovations for vehicles. The automaker is trying to compete with artificial intelligence systems, autonomous driving functions, and advanced hardware suites offered by companies like Tesla. But where Tesla is focusing on affordability and market reach, Mercedes is focusing on luxury and top-notch services.

With the Google partnership, Mercedes has now access to Google’s geospatial database including features like real-time traffic information, prediction algorithms, information on places, automatic re-routing, etc. 

At first, the company is going to offer basic features like location details to its customers. The feature will include details of more than 200 million businesses and locations around the world, provided from the Google database. The details will include business hours, location, images, reviews, and ratings. The basic features will be available in all Mercedes vehicles with the latest generation of MBUX in applicable markets.

Mercedes- Benz comes with an advanced high-resolution screen with outstanding graphics which will further add to the user experience. It will also add automatic speed adjustment functions wherein the vehicle will slow down right before an intersection, roundabout, and other sensitive and accident-prone areas. The company also plans to bring the Youtube app into its onboard entertainment system. 

In the long term, Mercedes plans to integrate the Google Map completely with the Mercedes- Benz operating system and use Google Cloud’s AI and Machine Learning capabilities to create, train, and deploy new models that will provide cutting-edge technology to its users. 

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said that the company partnered with only the best of the best firms as it wanted to bring great value and services to its customers. He further added that Google was an obvious choice as it is a global leader in maps and navigation systems. 

As for the actual usage, CEO Kallenius said that Google Maps will be deeply integrated within the signature Mercedes-Benz user interface and fully connected to relevant vehicle functions like the state of charge. 

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(via)

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Apple recently faced a major issue with it possibly losing a sizeable chunk of its iPhone sales in China. After the US government issued a new ban, which as against TikTok and WeChat, the company apparently had been forced to remove these apps from its App Stores. But despite tensions between the US and China ramping up, the company recently confirmed that its latest smartphone use data from China’s BeiDou Satellite System.

The statement from Apple arrived just after Ran Chengqi, head of China’s Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO), said that the smartphone maker should introduce Beidou compatibility with the iPhone. In a statement to Global Times, the company confirmed “iPhone 11 models use Beidou as part of its location data system.” While Apple has confirmed this, its official Chinese website has yet to detail the same in its list of supported networks.

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BeiDou support falls within GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) which also has Russia’s GLONASS. With Apple only recently supporting GNSS and specifically mentioning BeiDou for the iPhone 11, it can be surmised that the company only added compatibility for the network quite recently. Although that is just speculation so take it with a grain of salt.

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China recently announced that its self developed BeiDou Navigation system is now fully operational. The last batch of the satellites within the system was dispatched earlier this year and is now ready to provide services globally.

The new navigation system is now within the same league as US’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, and the EU’s Galileo. At the moment, more than 100 countries including Pakistan and countries part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are already using the system. Experts told Chinese media that “the completion of BeiDou-3 was due to the fact that core technologies cannot be bought or begged from other countries.”

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The project had brought in over 300,000 scientists, engineers, and technicians from more than 400 domestic institutes, universities, and enterprises. It has been under development since the 1990s and has finally been completed. Chinese President Xi Jinping commissioned the system last week, with a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People.

The system effectively lowers the country’s reliance on foreign navigation system and “By the end of 2019 in the Chinese mainland, more than 6.5 million road vehicles, 40,000 postal and express delivery vehicles, 80,000 buses in 36 major cities, 3,200 inland navigation facilities, and 2,900 marine navigation facilities had adopted the BDS, forming the world’s largest dynamic monitoring system for road vehicles.”

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China has successfully launched its final satellite within its BeiDou constellation network earlier today (23rd June 2020). The launch of the final satellite completes its new global navigation system which has been in works for about a decade.

The Long March 3B rocket flew the final BeiDou Navigation Satellite (BDS) into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. Its lift off occurred at 9:43 am Beijing time, which had finally been given the green light after a delay that lasted nearly a week due to technical problems.

Previously, the initial satellite launched before the final one had only been announced after successful insertion into orbit. But in a rare turn of event, the Chinese government announced the launch in advance and even broadcasted the launch live on television and online platform, which also included an English translation that was available on state services.

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For those unaware, China began the development of its BeiDou satellite system back in the 1990s, with the first satellite launching in 2000. The indigenous navigational system was developed to be a local offering similar to the GPS system from the US. The BDS system consists of 30 satellites, with its applications ranging from  high-precision positioning to short message communications.

The new satellite system also features “higher bandwidth, enabling enhanced communication capability and carrying more accurate … atomic clocks to improve the precision of timing and navigation services.” Notably, the system had faced various delays due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, but with the final satellite’s launch, the system can finally rival other navigational systems.

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(Via)

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