Nokia has teamed up with Mercedes-Benz to develop smart maps intended to spur the development of self-driving cars.

The news comes shortly after Mercedes recently completed a 62-mile test drive of an autonomous vehicle in Germany.

Teams from Nokia and Mercedes built a 3D digital map of the route that the first Benz Patent-Motorwagen took 125 years ago from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany. When it comes to self-driving cars, though, you have to be a bit more precise than your average mapping app. So the Nokia-Mercedes effort takes into account precise road data, like the number and direction of lanes, traffic signs along the route and even exact coordinates of traffic lights.

Autonomous vehicles are still a few years off, but you have to start somewhere, and this partnership takes into account the infrastructure and technological requirements needed before self-driving cars can hit the road.

To that end, Mercedes recently completed a test drive of its self-driving car, the S 500 Intelligent Drive research vehicle. The car traveled that 62-mile route to"became the world's first automobile manufacturer to demonstrate that autonomous driving in rural and urban traffic is possible," the company said.

In a video demo of the drive (below), a Mercedes team member says that car uses "technology that's actually not that far away from what's in the S Class today." The sedan can be seen navigating major highways as well as small, European side streets. There is a driver in the driver's seat, with his hands inches away from the steering wheel should anything go awry. A laptop sits to his right with a detailed map of the car's surroundings (click the image above for more).

"Common navigation systems are not precise enough," another team member says. Using cameras on the Mercedes, the company matched data in its mapping database about 10 times per second.

Nokia, meanwhile, has also teamed up with Magneti Marelli and Continental Corporation for additional mapping solutions. Magneti Marelli is working with Here on an end-to-end connected driving solution for car makers, while Continental Corporation recently added 3D content from Here into its new infotainment platform.

"We believe that the evolution towards a connected car future will happen in different phases. Autonomous driving is just one fascinating aspect," Michael Halbherr, head of Here and executive vice president at Nokia, said in a statement. "Every car OEM, system integrator and every driver will require their own unique solution and technology will never be able to replace human understanding. That is why we have created our Connected Driving solutions with fresh maps at their core."

The announcements were made as part of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs from Sept. 12-22. At the show, Mercedes also plans to show off its new Concept S-Class Coupe (above), a futuristic-looking vehicle that Mercedes said is "a preview of the coming standard in full-size two-door luxury coupes."