Civil Maps

Founded in 2015 by Sravan Puttagunta and Scott Harvey, Civil Maps emerged as a specialized technology firm focused on developing high-definition (HD) 3D mapping and localization solutions for autonomous vehicles. The company's core business revolves around providing the 'cognition' for self-driving cars, enabling them to understand their precise location and navigate complex environments safely.

Civil Maps' technology converts raw 3D data from LiDAR, cameras, and other sensors into lightweight, machine-readable maps. A key offering was the Fingerprint Base Map™, a technology designed to be compact and efficient, allowing for in-vehicle processing and crowdsourcing of map updates. This approach addressed a significant industry challenge: the creation of detailed, localization-ready 3D maps that are small enough to be stored in production vehicles and updated in near real-time. The platform was designed to provide localization with an accuracy of down to 10 centimeters, a substantial improvement over standard GPS. Its services catered to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other technology partners in the autonomous driving sector.

The company's business model focused on providing this mapping platform to car manufacturers and other entities developing autonomous machines, enabling them to create and update high-precision 3D maps at a lower cost. By leveraging vehicle crowdsourcing, the platform aimed to build and continuously maintain dynamic maps, reflecting real-world changes to inform driving decisions. The technology also supported an augmented reality feature, which could visualize the vehicle's understanding of its surroundings for passengers.

Throughout its operation, Civil Maps secured approximately $17 million in funding over four rounds from investors including Ford Motor Company, Motus Ventures, and Alrai Capital. In the second quarter of 2022, the company was acquired by Luminar Technologies, a global automotive technology firm specializing in LiDAR hardware and software. The acquisition was publicly announced at CES in January 2023. Civil Maps' technology was integrated into Luminar's Sentinel software stack to create automatically updating 3D road maps, enhancing the safety and capabilities of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving features.

Keywords: 3D mapping, autonomous vehicles, high-definition maps, vehicle localization, LiDAR data, self-driving cars, automotive technology, crowdsourced mapping, augmented reality maps, sensor fusion, ADAS, automotive software, spatial data, machine-readable maps, edge computing, navigation technology, autonomous vehicle routing, Fingerprint Base Map, Luminar Technologies, cognition for cars