Mercedes and Nokia are teaming up to build a 3D smart maps for autonomous cars. The system will connect to Nokia's cloud based location services unit HERE. It will enable personalized features for different drivers and will serve as a foundation for autonomous driving.

HERE is going to take self driving cars to the next level, but it will be difficult since it will have to understand "the very exact precision of lane width, road sign locations and other road network" to make the cars autonomous.

Mercedes has already got smart technology like proximity sensors that can respond to these kinds of cues. Nokia's maps division is one of only three left after the company sold its mobile phone division to Microsoft. We're guessing, this is the direction Nokia wants to head to next.

Of course, Mercedes and Nokia aren't the only ones in this category. Google has plans to make one, they've already tested theirs but its unclear if they'll bring it to market. Nissan says they'll be selling affordable self driving cars by 2020. Ford, Toyota, GM have all developed their own self driving cars too, but none have a prototype in sight,

[Nokia via CNET)