Back in 2018 at its very own I/O conference, Google announced that it planned to bring AR support to Google Maps, essentially allowing users to get information on a specific location by simply pointing the phone camera at it.
Not a long time ago, Google released an early version of this implementation as part of its Street View experience, while AR capabilities allowed users to see contacts’ locations with the help of real-time imagery captured by the phone camera.
But this week at the Search On 2020 digital event, Google confirmed that Google Maps would get more advanced AR capabilities in the Live View mode that would make it possible to see more information for scanned locations, including opening hours, how busy a specific store is, and other details, all by just pointing a mobile device at the said business.
“In the coming months, we’ll pair the same technology with helpful information about a place, right from within Live View. For example, you can quickly see information about a restaurant. It is open? How busy it tends to get? The star rating, and more. All by simply pointing the camera,” Google said.
Needless to say, AR is becoming a bigger part of Google Maps, and many users are already dreaming about a future when the application would just provide navigation capabilities based on real-time images captured by the phone.
Of course, such an implementation can be further expanded with more advanced technology, including on-board cameras mounted on cars that could help provide Google Maps with live imagery to then power AR-based navigation on the head unit inside the vehicle.
Until this happens, Google is expected to roll out the new AR capabilities announced this week in the coming months for supported Android phones.
