TomTom, Elektrobit Automotive and the Traveller Information Services Association (TISA), have founded the Open-LR eV Association to secure the future of the royalty free, OpenLR Standard for dynamic location referencing.

"The founding of the Open-LR Association is an important signal to the automobile industry, as it reassures service providers, automotive OEMs and suppliers that the OpenLR referencing method will continue to be maintained, and remain accessible, free of charge, to the market in the long term," the partners said in a statement.

OpenLR is an open standard for procedures and formats for the encoding, transmission, and decoding of local data irrespective of the map. The format allows locations that are localised on one map, to be found on another map to which the data have been transferred. Dynamic location referencing is particularly important for providing high quality traffic information in densely populated conurbations, and in rural areas. It will also play an important role in the exchange of local information between different partners, and for future automated driving applications.

Known for its portable navigators, TomTom also provides map content, online map based services, real time traffic and navigation software and works with suppliers and automakers to develope custom in dash navigation systems. It also operates a fleet management system as an online service with integrated in vehicle cellular devices.