Is Google Maps what augmented reality has been waiting for?
Beta testing AR walking directions with Local Guides. Now, with the impending introduction of AR into Google Maps, we may see a product that could have a massive impact. At Google’s 2018 developer conference, the company previewed Google Lens-like AR features offering improved walking directions and place information through the smartphone camera.
Google is now actively testing augmented walking directions. The company said today in a blog post, “We’re starting to test this feature with select Local Guides, a small group of Google Maps enthusiasts around the world who we know will offer us the feedback about how this approach can be most helpful. Like other AI-driven camera experiences such as Google Lens (which uses the camera to let you search what you see), we believe the ability to overlay directions over the real world environment offers an exciting and useful way to use the technology that already exists in your pocket.”
Why should you care. Google Maps is one of seven Google products that claims more than a billion users globally. Google is one of only a very small number of companies — the others being Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft — that can roll out practical AR applications to hundreds of millions of people simultaneously.
Most previous AR applications were about novelty or offered poor user experiences. Mapping and visual local search have obvious utility and should be widely adopted, if or when they are generally released. And if we assume that AR walking directions and other features make into Maps, it’s a safe bet that some form of AR monetization — aka paid marketing opportunities — will follow in time.
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