Google Maps unveiled Immersive View for hundreds of famous locations; now, the functionality is rolling out to five cities across the world.
Using the billions of Street View and aerial photographs it merges, users can look down on communities as if they were flying above them and then zoom in for a closer look. The overall effect is similar to that of using Google Earth, but with the added freedom of Street View.
First unveiled in May of 2021, Immersive View has since been expanded to include 250 monuments around the world, such as the Tokyo Tower and the Acropolis in Greece.
As of right now, the Indoor Live View function has been rolled out to one thousand airports, railway stations, and retail malls across London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Tokyo.
Pearl Xu, a representative for Google, said that the functionality is live on Android and iOS and that it will be coming to desktop over time. Several additional cities, including Florence, Venice, Amsterdam, and Dublin, will receive Immersive View in the coming months.
Users may check local traffic or parking, see which locations tend to draw the most crowds, and virtually fly above buildings to find entrances making Immersive View useful for things like trip planning to parks, museums, and events. One will also see a location at various times of day and in varying weather conditions.
By using an advanced artificial intelligence technique called neural radiance fields (NeRF), which generates a 3D rendered scene by mapping colour and light from multiple still images taken at different angles, Immersive View allows users looking for nearby cafes or restaurants to take a look inside select venues before they visit.
