How did technology help with exploration?

There are many answers to this, but I'll confine my remarks to the Age of Discovery, 1419 to 1529.

Prior to this time, European exploration and sailing had been primarily close to land cabotage, guided by portolan charts. These charts specified proven ocean routes guided by coastal landmarks: sailors departed from a known point, followed a compass heading, and tried to identify their location by its landmarks. For the first oceanic exploration Western Europeans used the compass, progressive new advances in cartography and astronomy. Arab navigation tools like the astrolabeand quadrant were used for celestial navigation.

Under Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator, a major advance was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a small ship able to sail windward more than any other in Europe at the time.

Military technology, such as improved cannons and sWords, also helped further exploration and discovery.