Google Maps is getting an “immersive view” that will offer users digitally depicted views of major US cityscapes, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai told Google’s I / O 2022 audience on Wednesday.
The new feature uses computer vision and AI to combine Maps’ existing Street View feature with aerial photography to create high-resolution models of the various buildings and urban features of a location. “With our new captivating view, you’ll be able to experience a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant or popular place – and even feel right there before stepping inside,” wrote Miriam Daniel, vice president of Google Maps, in a blog post. What’s more, other Maps tools and features can also be applied to the view, allowing users to see what the area looks like at different times of the day and in different weather conditions.
Immersive View will be available first in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo later this year, followed by more cities. The company also notes that its recently launched eco-route feature, which allows drivers in the US and Canada to choose the most efficient route for their journey, has already been used to travel 86 billion miles and prevented the release of approximately half a million metric tons of carbon emissions.
Google is not the only company that makes its navigation systems more readable and user-friendly. At WWDC 2021 last June, Apple released a higher-precision version of its Maps app, offering added details such as altitude gradients, brighter road colors, more distinctive location labels and hundreds of custom local icons landmarks.
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