Google Maps 'Next Level' Can Let You Explore Places You've Never Been Through Mobile Only

JAKARTA - At the Google I/O 2022 which was held on Thursday, May 12, Google took changes to Google Maps to the next level.

For more than 15 years, Google Maps has worked to create rich and useful representations of this information to help us navigate. This progress will surely take him to the next level.

The tech giant says it has increased the number of buildings on Google Maps in Africa by five times since July 2020, from 60 million to nearly 300 million.

At #GoogleIO today, @sundarpichai talked about how we're advancing two fundamental aspects of our mission — knowledge and computing — to create products that are built to help. https://t.co/dYpeknQNf3

— Google (@Google) May 11, 2022

"We are also bringing new capabilities to Maps. Using advances in 3D mapping and machine learning, we are combining billions of images from the air and road surfaces to create new, high-fidelity representations of places," the company wrote on its blog.

The latest technological breakthrough that comes to amplify the new experience on Maps is called immersive display. Immersive views let you explore places like never before.

What's amazing is that Google doesn't use drones flying all over the world to give its users an immersive experience, but instead uses neural rendering to create experiences from images alone.

Google Cloud Immersive Stream allows this experience to run on almost any smartphone. This feature will begin rolling out on Google Maps for select cities globally later this year.

Another big improvement to Maps is eco-routing. Launched last year, it shows you the most fuel-efficient routes, giving you the option to save money on gas and reduce carbon emissions.

The eco route has been launched in the US and Canada. People have used it to cover about 86 billion miles, helping to save about half a million metric tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of removing 100,000 cars from the road.

"I'm happy to announce that we're expanding this feature to more places, including Europe later this year," Google said.

Furthermore, Google has also added a similar feature to Google Flights. When you search for flights between two cities, Google Maps displays estimated carbon emissions along with other information such as prices and schedules, making it easier to choose a more environmentally friendly option.