At today’s IO 2023 event, Google unveiled a range of updates for Google Maps that aim to make navigation and exploration easier and more convenient for users. One of the most significant updates is the new “Immersive View” feature, which will now be available for map routes.
“Immersive View” was introduced at last year’s Google I/O and it provided a 3D-like view of key places and landmarks. However, this year, Google is taking this technology one step further and making it available for entire routes.
It uses computer vision and AI to combine billions of Street View and aerial images into a detailed digital picture that will allow you to see everything you need to know about your route at once. This technology displays all route data at once, such as bike lanes, sidewalks, crossroads, and parking while getting directions. There is also a time slider that shows you how air quality and traffic may change throughout the day.
This experience will launch in the summer in the U.S. and will be expanding to fifteen cities by the end of the year. Some of the cities that will benefit from this will be Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice.
Additionally, Google is making this experience available to developers that may want to build this into their own apps by launching a new Aeriel View API which is available starting today. Google is also launching an experimental release of Photorealistic 3D tiles via its Maps API. These tiles use the same 3D map source as Google Earth and outputs a 3D mesh model of real-world images textured with high resolution imagery.
These updates represent a significant step forward for Google Maps and demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to making navigation and exploration as easy and convenient as possible.
