In the achingly nostalgic story Time Stops at Shamli, celebrated author Ruskin Bond is intrigued about a small village that lies behind the railway station walls. He breaks his journey to explore the village to find fascinating characters, lost love, and more. In our more prosaic world, if you have ever felt curious about what exactly lay somewhere — a restaurant, a monument, a mall, or any other place — and want to explore it but have been unable to do it like Bond, Google Maps’ Live View feature could be just the thing that you need.
What is Live View feature?
Live View in Google Maps offers you directions placed in the real world and on a mini map at the bottom of your screen using Augmented Reality (AR). In the feature, identified landmarks could be easily recognizable places, like local parks and tourist attractions, or iconic structures like the Empire States Building in New York. The feature shows users how far away certain landmarks are from them and what direction they need to go to get there. You can use Live View navigation during the walking portion of any type of trip.
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How does it work?
In order to make use of the Live View feature, all you need is an ARkit/ARCore compatible Android or iOS device and should be in an area with good Street View coverage. The rest is taken care of by Live View. AR is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information. Images of these landmarks are identified using the device camera and allow the user to quickly orient themselves in their surroundings.
Can it come in handy?
Live View utilizes Google Street View to map and reproduce popular outdoor areas, with greater coverage being promised soon. This can be particularly helpful in navigating through unknown places like transit stations. The icing on the cake is that it can be accessed remotely too. A user sitting in London may be able to ‘visit’ the Pantheon without ever setting foot in Rome. Novelties aside, this can be great to plan journeys or commutes in advance. In fact, you might soon be able to find other people using the Live View feature.
Also read: How Artificial Intelligence and Location Intelligence are changing lives
How to use it?
A step-by-step guide to use the Live View feature can be found here.
- Open the Google Maps app on the device,
- enter a destination in the search bar or tap it on the map;
- tap Directions;
- above the map in the travel mode toolbar, tap Walking Walking;
- in the bottom center, tap Live View Maps AR.
Also read: How to develop a location-based Augmented Reality app
