Google Maps is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to bring users immersive maps that provide new and better ways to explore their surroundings.
Key Details
- Google’s latest upgrades not only give the user a better understanding of their route before they begin but give developers access to new tools to promote certain areas of a location.
- Live View and Immersive View will now have new AI tools that help users “visualize every segment of the route before you go.”
- Developers will also have access to more tools to “build immersive experiences” that allow users to check out the surrounding area before they visit a location in person.
Why it’s news
While other tech companies were quick to join the AI tech race, Google has been somewhat slower to implement new AI tools in its technology. However, since OpenAI’s ChatGPT wowed audiences, Google has been scrambling to catch up.
Adding these AI features to Google Maps sets the service apart from its competitors. Allowing users to get a better look at a location before they make their journey can reduce stress by providing more information and increase safety by accurately letting users know what an area looks like.
“Immersive View uses computer vision and AI to fuse billions of Street View and aerial images together to create a rich, digital model of the world,” Google says in its press release.
Users can preview their suggested biking, walking, or driving routes. This gives users a better idea of parking availability, and with the time slider feature, an understanding of air quality and how the area changes at different times of the day. The AI will also provide an estimated traffic flow during the chosen time of day using historical data.
Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice will have access to Immersive View in the coming months.
These AI updates will also provide benefits to developers who want to give users a better idea of what their location looks like. Already, the real estate app Rent. is using Google Maps’ Aerial View API to give potential renters a better understanding of the area surrounding their possible rental. Renters can use Google Maps to explore the neighborhood surrounding the rental and have a more detailed knowledge of an area before making a rental decision.
Photorealistic 3D Tiles also allow developers to build an “immersive experience unique to their brand” using the technology behind Google Earth. With access to this data, developers no longer have to develop their maps from scratch.
National parks can create photorealistic maps of their facilities, event coordinators can provide a detailed view of a venue, and cities can create enticing, realistic views of their landmarks.