Google has announced a bunch of new updates for Maps, that
are going to make navigation and exploration on the app easier for users.
Using machine learning and navigation information, Google Maps
will now ensure reduced chances of hard-braking. By calculating multiple route
options to a user’s destination based on factors like the number of lanes of a
road and how direct a route is, Maps will offer faster route options. On the
basis of that, users can identify which route would reduce their chances of
encountering a hard-braking moment. Google claims that this feature will help
prevent 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps every
year.
In addition to that, Google is rolling out the Detailed
Street Maps feature, that it had introduced last August, to 50 more cities by
the end of this year. With the help of this feature, users can see where
sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian islands are, along with the shape and
width of a road to scale. As a result, it will be easier to plan the most accommodating
route.
Maps’ Live View feature is also receiving improvement with new
street signs for complex intersections, hence making it easier to identify what
road you are on and which way to go. Live View will also tell where you are in
relation to places, such as your hotel.
Google is also expanding its Live Busyness Information
feature to show the relative busyness of an entire area; for instance, whether
a neighborhood or a part of town is busier than usual. The feature will also help
identify popular parts of a town.
On a whole, Google has tailored Maps to users’ needs, such
as by highlighting the most relevant places based on time of day and whether or
not a user is traveling. For instance, on a weekday at 8 a.m. in New York, Maps
will highlight nearby coffee shops instead of dinner places.
The Google Maps’ AI is only getting smarter and all its newly
launched features are going to be available globally on both Android and iOS in
the coming months.
