Photo: Google
Google has just announced a new massive update for Google Maps with two new features, both of them supposed to provide you with more information about a specific location when using the service.
First and foremost, it’s a new color scheme used for the different types of terrains, so technically, you can now better distinguish areas full of vegetation, such as a forest, from a large city.
Google says such coverage is already offered for all 220 countries and territories that are available on Google Maps, and the update is now going live gradually across the world.
“We use computer vision to identify natural features from our satellite imagery, looking specifically at arid, icy, forested, and mountainous regions. We then analyze these features and assign them a range of colors on the HSV color model. For example, a densely covered forest can be classified as dark green, while an area of patchy shrubs could appear as a lighter shade of green,” the company explains.
Then, it’s a feature that could also come in handy when you’re using Google Maps for navigation.
Beginning with this update, the app can display additional information about the roads, including a more accurate shape, sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian islands.
While all of these are mostly useful for pedestrians and those with accessibility needs, crosswalks being marked on Google Maps are also good news for drivers, as they can slow down in advance and reduce the likelihood of an accident.
This particular feature will originally be available in just a few cities, including London, New York, and San Francisco, with the launch projected to take place in the coming months. Google says it’s already working on expanding this Google Maps feature to more regions across the world, but for the time being, no other specifics are available.
All improvements are available not only on the web in Google Maps but also on mobile devices where the dedicated app is already installed.
Google says such coverage is already offered for all 220 countries and territories that are available on Google Maps, and the update is now going live gradually across the world.
“We use computer vision to identify natural features from our satellite imagery, looking specifically at arid, icy, forested, and mountainous regions. We then analyze these features and assign them a range of colors on the HSV color model. For example, a densely covered forest can be classified as dark green, while an area of patchy shrubs could appear as a lighter shade of green,” the company explains.
Then, it’s a feature that could also come in handy when you’re using Google Maps for navigation.
Beginning with this update, the app can display additional information about the roads, including a more accurate shape, sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian islands.
While all of these are mostly useful for pedestrians and those with accessibility needs, crosswalks being marked on Google Maps are also good news for drivers, as they can slow down in advance and reduce the likelihood of an accident.
This particular feature will originally be available in just a few cities, including London, New York, and San Francisco, with the launch projected to take place in the coming months. Google says it’s already working on expanding this Google Maps feature to more regions across the world, but for the time being, no other specifics are available.
All improvements are available not only on the web in Google Maps but also on mobile devices where the dedicated app is already installed.
Google News