TomTom and Unity: How AI, maps and real-time 3D take us beyond navigation

Drivers don’t experience a navigation provider’s algorithms or data. They experience what they see, understand, and trust. Paul Hesen, VP of Product at TomTom, explains why visualization is not decoration, and how TomTom and Unity are working together to take in-car navigation beyond the route line.

Discover how TomTom’s maps and journey intelligence combine with Unity’s real-time 3D to turn a digital representation of the world into visual experiences drivers can grasp instantly, and what it takes to make them production-ready.

Watch the full video to learn how:

• TomTom’s user experience (UX) research, drawing on 11 studies from 2023 to 2026, defines what makes a map feel premium to drivers: beautiful, relevant, and real.
• Lane-level guidance cut navigation errors by about 40% in a TomTom driving simulator study built in Unity, and why rich 3D detail matters most at start-up, on arrival and at complex junctions, while on the move the road comes first.
• Drivers orient by landmarks, tastes in realism vary, and accuracy is non-negotiable. In TomTom’s 2026 survey of 370 frequent drivers, 63% lose trust in their map after 2–3 errors in an hour’s drive.
• Unity provides the canvas of real-time 3D, interaction and creative freedom, while TomTom supplies the context of maps, lanes, journey intelligence, and a changing real world.
• Performance, portability, validation, integration, and continuity make up the work behind a production-ready experience.
• What comes next beyond navigation, including the impact of AI.

This session was recorded at the Unity Industry Summit in Munich, October 2026.