Google will add a new mode for its map platform that allows users to enjoy panoramic views of cities and neighborhoods in stunning detail.
The new ‘Immersive View’ is a blend of existing Street View imagery and aerial maps brought together in one tool to explore your surroundings, even allowing for interior views of restaurants to help you ‘feel the vibe’.
Google claims that this immersive vision has been achieved thanks to recent advances in computer vision and artificial intelligence that have allowed merge billions of Street View images and your aerial maps.
This tool will work on virtually any phone or device and will allow users to zoom in on landmarks, cities or neighborhoods for a closer perspective.
When planning a trip, virtually fly over iconic landmarks and see them up close.
Then check out what the areas look like at different times of day and weather, with helpful information layered – so you know if you really need that umbrella and if it’s busy. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/sWEyaXH64k
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) May 11, 2022
The usual Google Maps features such as reviews and general information about the business or reference location are integrated into the immersive view. An interesting addition is the possibility to use a time slider to see how it looks at different times of the day.
This feature even seems to account for climate change and the movement of shadows as the Sun moves across the sky, and examples shared by Google also show the movement of clouds, rain, and even birds in flight.
It will be interesting to see what the final product will look like when it launches later this year. Google will roll out this function in Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, and later in other cities.