Among the many innovations announced at Google I / O 2022, there are some functions of Maps really surprising like the new “Immersive View“. A function that allows you to explore a place even before having been there, using Street View and satellite imagery to show the places in a virtual way. And that’s not the only news on Mountain View maps.
Google Maps introduces the “Immersive View”, to travel even from home
On the stage of Mountain View Miriam Daniel, VP of Google Maps, explained how over a billion people use Google maps and navigation to get to their destination. In recent years the company has started implement AI to be able to check when the shops are open or how many people are on a bus. But artificial intelligence from this year can even take us to a place without leaving home.
Google’s proprietary AI merges millions of Street View and satellite images to create a detailed model of the model that you can explore on your computer or smartphone. This allows you to evaluate what a neighborhood, restaurant or popular attraction is like even before setting foot there. In this way you can trace an itinerary without nasty surprises, book a place knowing that you like the location and much more.
A virtual journey before the real one
From the Mountain View stage Miriam Daniel ci gave the example of a person who wants to organize a trip to London. With a search on Maps can see Westminster and the Big Ben closely, evaluating the effect in different weather conditions and at different times of the day.
But the search for the right restaurant seemed even more impressive. From Street View, we are virtually entered the room to explore it. It seems that a drone was flying inside the room, instead it was all recreated virtually. And the interesting thing is that all the typical information seen on Google Maps, such as operating hours and links to book, remain visible.
Sundar Pichai al Google I / O 2022
Initially, this feature will not have global coverage. We will be able to visit precisely London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. But Google has promised new cities coming within the year.
The other news announced at Google I / O 2022 for Maps
In addition to the Immersive View, there are other interesting news coming to Google Maps. For example, the possibility to choose between the navigation options greener road: the one that allows you to save fuel (and also money).
Recently launched in Canada and the United States, it has already done travel 86 billion mlaughs at users, saving half a million tons of carbon emissions: how to take away 100 thousand cars off the road. It will soon arrive in Europe as well.
In addition, Google has decided to make the APIs available to developers to use the augmented reality of Live View in your own apps. Live View is the function that allows you to superimpose the directions of Google Maps on the road you see in front of you with the camera, so that you can understand which road to take by walking in a complicated intersection, for example.
With the ARCore Geospatial API now several companies can use them. Like Lime for their electric vehicles, or Tesltra and Accenture for those who go to the stadium in America and look for their seat. But the most interesting application is that of DOCOMO and Curiosity, which use it to make you fight dragons in different historical places in Tokyo.
Artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality are forever changing the way people move. With Immersive View, Google Maps becomes even more complete.