During the Google Keynote event that was held in May of 2018 showed some of the major technologies that they have planned for the coming years. And among them, one specific feature caught everyone’s attention and that is AR mode that was touted to be in works for the Google Maps.
Essentially, the AR update will give the map the ability to use the camera and guide the user through detailed signage that will be placed based on our route. So, if you are a point where the road is branching out to different routes and the little blue dot on your screen is confusing on where should you turn, then you can just point the camera at the direction and you will be greeted with informative signage, floating off the ground, guiding you in the right direction.
The project is still in Alpha and it might take a few more months to get it up to speed, and finally, to the official rollout version.
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Being Google, you can surely expect the playful approach to design and overall feel. The tech is designed to be used when you need quick guidance and not as a full-time navigation system. Even if you tried to navigate solely using the AR mode, the app will show you a notification saying that it’s unsafe to navigate just looking at your camera.
This is good for both your safety and the device because currently, AR tech is very taxing when it comes to a phone’s resources. So using it sparsely when traveling is a great way to save on battery power and internet data.
You can switch to AR mode from the standard 2D mode by just holding the phone vertical to the ground. The feature works best when it the surrounding at in full view. So If it can recognize a set of buildings, then the directions would show up right away, however, the same can be said when there are interferences like heavy traffic that often blocks the view of the camera. In the coming, we can hopefully see the AR feature coming to Google Maps and making navigation that much more effortless.