We are in the middle of Google I/O and the company led by Sundar Pichai is taking the opportunity to show us all its developments in all its sectors. Of course, Google Maps is one of the protagonists. One of the most popular Google services receives a very interesting improvement that promises great potential, we are talking about ‘Immersive View’ or the ‘Immersive View’.
Thanks to this immersive view of Google Maps, the company takes advantage of the full potential of Maps, Street View and its almost infinite bank of images to show us the cities in three dimensions with constructions based on real images. But not only that, we can also simulate different climates and even take a look inside buildings and restaurants.
The cities outside and inside
Google claims to have merged ‘billions’ of images to build its new immersive view. Thanks to it we will be able to see cities in three dimensions with really precise models built with artificial intelligence. The images are combined with each other to offer us a kind of ‘Street View 2.0’ with an aerial view and more news about the interior of buildings.
Because if we can see cities from the outside, we can also see them from the inside. Specifically, Google has shown us 3D reconstructions of restaurant interiors. With London as the city used for the example, we have not only been able to see Big Ben or Westminster in three dimensions, we have also seen a restaurant with great detail based on, we repeat, the fusion of a barbarity of images that Google has stored for years.
Immersive view in @GoogleMaps is a new way to experience what a neighborhood, landmark, restaurant and venue will be like — and even feel like you’re right there. It uses advances in computer vision and AI to fuse together billions of Street View images.
This immersive mode of Google Maps will also allow us to check the local weather, in case we are considering taking a trip, and even the traffic on it. We will be able to see the cities from a bird’s eye view and also at street level. Unfortunately, this deployment seems to be slow. Sundar Pichai has confirmed on stage that the immersive view of Maps will be available ‘in select cities’ and ‘throughout 2022’. We’ll see which ones are lucky. We already fear that only capitals, and not all.
In addition to this immersive view, Google Maps will now also allow us to choose the most economical routes from a fuel point of view. We can no longer only choose the fastest or with less traffic, but also those that allow us to spend less fuel and, therefore, pollute less during the trip. Another feature coming later.
