Google has announced that Maps will now show indoor AR directions and eco-friendly routes when pointing users from location to location. The tech giant said that the new indoor AR navigation has been expanded upon the previously introduced Live View features on Google Maps. It will first be made available to select locations such as airports, malls, and train/bus stations. The new feature will help users find out exactly where they’re heading inside the airport, malls, or bus/train stations.
According to the official Google Blog, AR directions in indoor locations will first come to selected locations, and will not be available everywhere just yet. But starting March 30 onwards, people can use the feature in some airports and “a number of malls” in some countries and cities. Tokyo and Zurich have become the first areas to gain transit and airport Live View directions, and AR directions are now available and live in select malls in Chicago, LA, Long Island, Newark, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. The software giant says that it will expand the feature to more shopping locations in the coming months.
Google Maps Indoor AR Directions, Eco-friendly Navigation
Like said before, Live View and AR directions have now become live in certain locations. Users can find the nearest elevator and escalators, platform, gate, check-in counters, baggage claim, restrooms, ATMs, ticket office, and more. To point users the right way, Google Maps now offers indoor directions to where they’re heading. If a user needs to pick up something from the mall, then he can use Live View to see what floor a store is on. You can also see how to get to that floor and find where the store is — all in a snap. This feature is now live on both Android and iOS versions of Google Maps in several malls in the above-mentioned cities. It will roll out to more airports in the coming months.
Apart from Live View and AR directions, Google Maps will now also favor eco-friendly navigation. While recommending a route to users, Maps will now show local weather and air-quality data. It will suggest more fuel-efficient and eco-friendly routes when you use Google Maps while traveling by car. According to Google, Maps will automatically choose the most eco-friendly route if the directions provide the same ETA. Users can also adjust their preferences within settings to tweak or disable this feature. However, this feature is not yet live, but the company says it’ll be rolling out “later this year” in the US. Eco-friendly navigation will come to more countries later.
