In a few cities, Google Maps will roll out a brand-new feature called “Immersive View for Routes.” During its I/O event, Google introduced a new feature for Maps that uses AI to display your route before you leave. Developers can also use the immersive Maps experience in their applications.
Immersive View for Routes on Google Maps
Before beginning their journey, users will be able to visually preview their whole route on Google Maps, including bike lanes, walkways, crossings, and parking spaces, thanks to a new feature called Immersive View.
Immersive View combines billions of Street View and aerial images with computer vision and artificial intelligence to build a complete digital map of the entire planet, enabling you to see all the crucial details about your trip at once.
You can also view air quality data and weather changes along the route with the time slider, ensuring that you are ready for any weather conditions.
Aerial View API on Google Maps: Possibilities for Developers to Expand
Google is launching the Aerial View API, which enables developers to incorporate a 3D bird’s-eye video of a spot of interest into their apps and provide extra visual details about a location.
The Rent. app, which leverages the Aerial View API to assist tenants in visualising a property and its environs, will give developers a new option to create immersive experiences in their apps.
Photorealistic 3D Tiles: 3D Maps with Customization for Developers
Through their Map Tiles API, Google is also releasing an experimental version of Photorealistic 3D Tiles, which enables developers to add high-resolution 3D imagery from Google Earth to their 3D maps without starting from scratch.
Using this technology, brand-specific immersive experiences can be created, such as 3D maps of national parks or virtual tours of famous buildings with historical markings superimposed.
Availability
- In the upcoming months, Google plans to roll out Immersive View for routes in a few select locations.
- Cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice will all have access to this feature.
Speaking on the announcement, Miriam Daniel, VP, Google Maps Experiences, said:
We can now alter maps and provide immersive experiences thanks to AI in a variety of ways. As we continue to make Maps more functional and user-friendly, we eagerly anticipate seeing the fresh ideas of our developer community.
