With AI taking on a larger role in automated driving (AD), expectations of what autonomous vehicles should be capable of are rising. Vehicles are expected to go beyond reacting to what's ahead, and even predict what will happen next. In this growing reliance on neural networks, maps have increasingly been labeled as optional, or even obsolete. But as with every new tech, there's a path to evolution until things work perfectly. The modern world of safe automated driving still depends on a contextual awareness and grounded understanding of what lies ahead — how the road is shaped, how traffic typically behaves and what situations are likely to unfold beyond the range of onboard sensors.

Almost 60% of the world’s population now lives in urban spaces. That puts pressure on city and state governments to keep these places livable, accessible and equipped to support billions of residents. To help make their task easier, TomTom recently launched Area Analytics — a tool that combines world-leading, on-ground traffic data with big-picture insights.

It’s safe to say that we’re in the middle of a renAIssance. Over the past couple of years, with generative and agentic AI becoming mainstream, businesses around the globe have been in a race to integrate it into both their workflow and their output. But like any other new phenomenon, AI faces questions on the ethical implications of its widespread use.

Smarter cars, happier drivers: The real-world impact of AI assistants.