UK mapping agency Ordnance Survey (OS) and Intel company Mobileye have deployed a fleet of vehicles to capture a street-level view of the road network in the country.

Northumbrian Water Group has become the first utility company in the UK to join the project.

Mobileye automotive camera-based mapping technology will be retrofitted on Northumbrian Water Group’s vehicles to help capture a street-level view of the nation’s road network.

By providing high-precision roadside asset location data to firms across sectors, the collaboration will unlock the innovation of AI-powered automotive technology for a number of markets.

Retrofitted with the Mobileye 8 Connect, vehicles will detect, process and send data to the Cloud for aggregation before the information is provided to OS.

OS will then cross-reference data with its existing datasets.

“The initial trials are already delivering a deeper and richer level of data capture.”

Data captured will include road markings, traffic lights, network boxes, road signs, lamp and telegraph posts, bollards, manhole covers, and drainage grates. Data will be updated constantly as vehicles capture information on the roads they travel.

Mobileye president and CEO of Amnon Shashua said: “A future of smart cities and safe streets is within reach when we equip governments and businesses with high-precision mapping data. We look forward to seeing the continuing progress of our trials.”

The trial has been launched in selected areas of the country, including London, Manchester, and the North East.

OS interim CEO Neil Ackroyd said: “The initial trials are already delivering a deeper and richer level of data capture, which we are confident will bring added value to our customers and become an important dataset for emerging markets, and a building block for Britain’s infrastructure for many years.”

OS and Mobileye said that the trial will continue over the summer.