Google has announced a number of new AI-powered updates coming quickly to Google Maps that purpose to assist customers plan journeys, navigate unfamiliar areas, discover electrical car charging stations, and uncover new locations and actions.
Immersive View
Probably the most visually superior new characteristic is Immersive View for routes, offering customers with an in depth preview of their journey from begin to end.
Utilizing superior AI to fuse billions of Avenue View and aerial photos, Google claims Immersive View will permit customers to expertise simulated journeys as in the event that they have been there.
The Immersive View preview is an interactive expertise, permitting customers to discover routes from totally different vantage factors, zoom, pan, and even change the time of day or climate situations. This offers customers a way of what the journey might be like earlier than embarking.
Immersive View leverages pc imaginative and prescient, synthetic intelligence, and billions of Avenue View and aerial photos to generate its extremely detailed 3D representations of routes.
Along with routes, Immersive View was first launched earlier this 12 months for particular person landmarks and places. Builders also can create immersive experiences by means of new 3D mapping instruments within the Google Maps Platform.
Immersive View for routes will begin rolling out this week on Android and iOS in cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tokyo.
Updates To Lens
Google Maps is increasing its Lens characteristic, which lets customers orient themselves in unfamiliar areas by lifting their telephone’s digicam.
Utilizing AI and augmented actuality, Lens reveals details about close by eating places, outlets, transit stations, and extra proper on prime of the view from the digicam. After launching in a handful of cities final 12 months, Lens is coming to over 50 extra cities globally.
Updates For Electrical Car Drivers
A number of updates purpose to offer electrical car drivers with extra useful info for lowering “charging anxiousness” on journeys.
Customers will now see specifics like compatibility, the quantity, kind, energy degree of chargers, and information on when chargers have been final used to keep away from damaged ones.
These options begin rolling out this week worldwide.
AI-Powered Visible Outcomes
Google Maps is reimagining search with new AI-powered visible outcomes. Customers trying to find particular actions like “animal latte artwork” will now see picture outcomes of matching places.
The thematic search outcomes are based mostly on billions of photographs analyzed by superior pc imaginative and prescient fashions. Customers can faucet by means of the picture outcomes to view particulars, opinions, instructions, and extra about every location.
Google says these visible search improvements depend on its pc imaginative and prescient, picture recognition, and synthetic intelligence advances. The brand new visible search expertise launches in France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US this week.
Featured Picture: Screenshot from weblog.google/merchandise/maps/google-maps-october-2023-update/, October 2023.
