Today, more than 1 billion people use Google Maps. They provide real-time traffic information, navigate to specific locations, and show restaurants, accommodation or shops in a given area. They also make it easier to make reservations at accommodations or allow users to virtually visit places around the planet with Live View and Street View.
Another innovation announced by Google at this year’s Google IO conference will be a new feature called Immersive View. With a new layer that uses a combination of artificial intelligence (or machine learning) and 3D mapping, we’ll visit places around the world with real-time and location details. This will include traffic density, current weather or time of day. With this new feature, you’ll feel a bit like you’re in Sim City.
Thanks to search, you can see architectural gems such as London’s Big Ben or Buckingham Palace from all angles. At the same time, Immersive View will also work at street level (traffic density and busyness at specific times), and you’ll even get a glimpse into the interiors of large buildings in great detail.
The feature will work on almost every phone and device, though we’ll have to wait for it to be made available here. In fact, it will roll out later this year, first in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. And given the tourist appeal of our capital city, it’s very likely that Prague will soon be part of Immersive View as well.