2025’s cutting-edge autonomous driving trends

In the early 2010s, the autonomous driving industry offered optimistic predictions that self-driving cars would become mainstream by 2025.

But despite the huge progress in technology, regulatory challenges, safety concerns and the complexity of real-world driving environments have slowed widespread adoption.

As a result, the timeline for driverless cars becoming a common sight was pushed back, with experts now seeing the rollout as a gradual process instead of an overnight change.

We sat down with Sjoerd Spaargaren, Global Product Marketing Manager Automated Driving at HERE Technologies to better understand what the autonomous driving landscape will look like in 2025.

#1: Speed limit recognition 

One key element of autonomous driving is intelligent speed assistance (ISA), a system designed to help drivers adhere to speed limits and improve road safety.

Knowing when you are speeding can be a tricky task. Road signs may be obscured, unreliable, or even missing entirely. To address this issue, the European Union implemented a regulation in July 2022 mandating that all new passenger vehicles be equipped with ISA systems.

The biggest advantage of ISA lies in its ability to accurately identify speed limits even when road signs cannot by gathering data from many different sources and filling in information gaps. The system then uses visual and audio alerts to raise the driver's awareness of speed limits and reduce the risk of crossing them.

"ISA requires great speed limit freshness, accuracy and coverage," emphasized Sjoerd.

All ISA systems must also have a regularly updated record of speed limits from all over the EU, and beyond - and that's not an easy task. To achieve this, ISA relies on a combination of camera recognition and location technology to guarantee that the drivers are educated about speed limits no matter which route they choose.

#2: Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Location-enabled ADAS plays a crucial role in enhancing both safety and convenience, enabling hands-off, eyes-on driving in today’s vehicles.

This technology empowers OEMs to design advanced, reliable systems that take over certain driving tasks, using contextual information to minimize human errors in diverse driving scenarios and conditions.

HERE ADAS solutions improve the driving experience by integrating location intelligence into assisted and automated driving systems and highly automated driving solutions.

These maps, used by more than 40 million vehicles and 50 OEM brands, support a range of custom driving solutions, enabling speed limit information, lane-keeping assistance, adaptive and predictive cruise control and predictive powertrain control.

#3: Highly Automated Driving (HAD)

HAD systems represent a step toward fully autonomous vehicles, unlocking the potential for hands-free driving at Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 3 and beyond. 

These cutting-edge systems are engineered to handle complex driving scenarios with precision. They empower vehicles to autonomously manage tasks such as navigating heavy traffic, accurately recognizing road signs and maintaining optimal positioning on the road—all while enhancing safety and driver convenience.

A technology that supports this use case is HERE HD Live Map, a dynamic map that offers a high-definition, cloud-based service to deliver accurate and real-time road data crucial for autonomous systems.

HERE HD Live Map combines data analytics with precision mapping technology to improve the decision-making processes of autonomous vehicles. With precision accuracy to within 20 centimeters, HERE HD Live Map supports a road model, a lane model and a localization model to optimize automated vehicle performance in various driving environments.

Combined with efficient navigation and dynamic adaptation to changes such as road works, weather conditions, hazardous situations and unexpected obstacles, it enables vehicles to perform more autonomously.

HAD paves the way for a future where cars can drive themselves, reducing the need for human intervention and minimizing the risk of accidents.

#3: Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) lies at the heart of advancements in autonomous driving, leveraging vast data sources to extract and apply relevant information in real time.

At HERE, our location intelligence is powered by a highly automated map-making platform, protected by over 500 patents related to the automated processing of map data. Many of these innovations utilize cutting-edge AI and machine learning (ML) techniques to deliver unmatched accuracy and efficiency.

Our ML capabilities process massive datasets to generate optimized, actionable information, enabling vehicles to make split-second decisions with confidence. This technology enhances the driving experience, making it smarter, more immersive, and more responsive to user needs.

"A large portion of our portfolio is evolving all the time," said Sjoerd.

#5: Superior sensor integration

A detailed understanding of the environment is crucial for the advancement of autonomous vehicles.

This is where sensors such as lidar, radar and cameras come in. Together, they can achieve 360-degree environmental awareness, allowing vehicles to detect obstacles, pedestrians and other vehicles for better safety on the road.

By using precise laser mapping capabilities, HERE HD Live Map delivers a highly detailed 3D representation of the road environment that complements the vehicle sensors as an additional and affordable sensor.

This includes critical elements such as lane markings, road signs and static and dynamic objects, ensuring that autonomous vehicles have the necessary contextual awareness to make intelligent driving decisions, even under challenging conditions.

#6: Adaptive cruise control

Adaptive cruise control takes conventional systems to the next level by automatically adjusting a vehicle's speed to maintain a safe distance from others.

This feature enhances driving comfort and safety, especially on highways where traffic can be unpredictable.

Precise mapping and dynamic data allow vehicles to adjust speed intelligently in response to varying traffic conditions and road layouts. HERE maps provide granular road details like curvature and elevation, enabling vehicles to preemptively slow down on sharp turns or adjust speed upon approaching steep inclines.

This level of advanced spatial awareness ensures smoother and safer speed transitions, reducing the driver's cognitive load and increasing road safety.

Forecasting autonomy

The future of autonomous driving promises to revolutionize how we travel, delivering safer, more reliable and comfortable journeys through the development of advanced assisted driving systems across all levels of automation.

With cutting-edge features supporting ADAS, HAD and superior sensor integration, autonomous vehicles are set to redefine the automotive landscape by 2025 and beyond.

These innovations will play a pivotal role in advancing autonomous technology, shaping the driving experience of tomorrow with enhanced safety, efficiency and comfort—ushering in a new era of smarter and more connected mobility.