Google, in conjunction with the United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is working on a new feature for Google Map that will show users the most eco-conscious driving routes.
Google Maps’ Director of Product, Russell Dicker, stated, “By and large, what we’re seeing in our work so far is that, for around half of routes, we’re able to find an option that is more eco-friendly with minimal or no time cost tradeoff.”
Giving users more eco-friendly options while driving and making them see the weather and the quality of air are among the new features Google plans to include in the latest Google Map, which comes with an augmented reality called the Indoor Live View.
The Indoor Live View is also a new feature that will allow users navigate malls, airports and train stations. A more interactive feature than Google Maps’ existing indoor maps, it will be available on Android and IOS users in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Long Island, Seattle, Newark and New Jersey. It will also be in transit stations in Tokyo and Zurich.
Dicker said the augmented reality feature would help users find a range of things indoors, such as baggage claim or a train platform at a transit station, or, in a mall, directions to a store or a certain floor.
The Indoor Live View deploys Artificial Intelligence and Google’s inventory of Street View Images to determine location other than smartphone’s in-built Global Positioning System.
