Mitsubishi Electric and Zenrin, a Japanese map publisher, formed a joint venture to create sample digital highway maps for the development of domestic driverless car technology by this year, reported Nikkei on August 16. The high-resolution sample maps are to cover 300 km of highways. By using vehicles with GPS (Global Positioning System) antennae and laser scanners, the map data will be combined with road signs and other data. Furthermore, the venture, aims to cover 20,000 km of highways and other roads by 2017, and is considering partnering with Here, a German company offering cloud-based map management. This partnership is expected to enable standardization of digital map data across Japan and Europe, and expand interregional business.