A major update has been rolled out to Google Maps that will allow users to have a bird’s-eye view of cities.
The new ‘Immersive view’ feature uses advances in AI and computer vision to fuse billions of Street View and aerial images to create a rich, digital model of the world.
It also layers helpful information on top like the weather, traffic, and how busy a place is.
For example, if you’re planning a visit to the Natural History Museum, Google Maps will now let you virtually soar over the building and see where things like the entrances are.
With the time slider, you can see what the area looks like at different times of day and what the weather will be like.
You can also spot where it tends to be most crowded so you can have all the information you need to decide where and when to go.
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With the new feature you can also plan your meal in advance by gliding down to the street level to explore nearby restaurants. You can even go a step further and take a look inside to quickly understand the vibe of a spot before you book your reservation.
‘To create these true-to-life scenes, we use neural radiance fields (NeRF), an advanced AI technique, transforms ordinary pictures into 3D representations,’ said Google in a blog post.
‘With NeRF, we can accurately recreate the full context of a place including its lighting, the texture of materials and what’s in the background. All of this allows you to see if a bar’s moody lighting is the right vibe for a date night or if the views at a cafe make it the ideal spot for lunch with friends,’
Immersive view starts rolling out today in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo.
In the coming months, it’ll launch in even more cities, including in Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence and Venice.
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