Google Maps Gets Augmented Reality Search Results

Google Maps loves augmented reality. After launching augmented reality pedestrian navigation in 2019 and indoor AR navigation in 2021, it now features augmented reality search results.

AR search results will place markers in your video stream located in 3D space. This is a dream interface for augmented reality glasses, but for now it will only work on the phone.

As usual for Maps AR features, this will run on a Google Maps VPS or “Visual Positioning System “. It’s a camera-based location system: you turn on your camera, point it at the world, and your camera image is compared to Google’s huge collection of street view data to determine your location. This is an extremely resource-intensive way to determine location, but it is much more accurate at orientation and street-level location than the phone’s compass and GPS, which are prone to interference.

As Google said in that original post, “The accuracy of localization through a VPS is highly dependent on the quality of both the images and the location associated with them.” As such, this augmented reality feature will only be available in a few cities: London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo. Google says it’s coming to Android and iOS “in the coming months.”

Google listing image / Ron Amadeo