Years ago, Google’s Street View program expanded from streets to virtually everywhere, thanks to Google’s Trekker program that put 360-degree Street View cameras into a single backpack. Today, Google announced its upgraded Trekker backpack, which is significantly smaller and lighter than before. The old one weighed in at about 44 pounds. It’s not just a […]
Maps
A more personalized version of Google Maps is now arriving on iOS. At Google’s I/O developer conference earlier this year, the company introduced a series of new features designed to help Google Maps users learn what’s happening around them, track area businesses to receive updates about their events and promotions, and receive personalized suggestions of […]
Google Maps’ new personalized suggestions come to iOS
Google Maps has a pretty solid set of data for taking transit from here to there, but anyone with a physical disability knows it isn't quite that simple. Some stations may be wheelchair-unfriendly, have out-of-service elevators, that kind of thing. A new update to the service adds an option for you to specify a wheelchair-accessible route — though that's just a start on what's really needed.
Google adds a wheelchair-accessible option for transit maps
People are taking photos and videos all over major cities, all the time, from every angle. Theoretically, with enough of them, you could map every street and building — wait, did I say theoretically? I meant in practice, as the VarCity project has demonstrated with Zurich, Switzerland. Read MoreProject recreates cities in rich 3D from images harvested online
Google Maps is getting an upgrade today aimed at putting the information you need most often within easier reach in the app’s interface. With a swipe up from the home screen, you’ll now be able to view things like the current traffic conditions – and how that impacts your ETAs to home and work – as well as transit schedules, places to eat or drink, nearby ATMs,… Read MoreGoogle Maps redesign puts traffic, transit, places and more at ...
A new feature in Google Maps will help you find parking – or rather, it will mentally prepare you for how difficult it will be to find a parking space at your destination. Google says it’s now using “historical parking data” to calculate a parking difficulty score, which will be displayed in Google Maps’ directions card as “Limited,”… Read MoreGoogle Maps will now tell you how bad the parking ...
A drone is a great eye in the sky, but if you want richer data than what its cameras show — for example, detailed 3D maps — you might be looking at a few hours of processing time. That is, unless your HQ is rocking Lockheed Martin’s cool-sounding Hydra Fusion tools, which can build that 3D map in real time from just video. Read MoreLockheed Martin’s Hydra Fusion builds 3D maps in real time ...
Terrapattern is a visual search engine that, from the moment you first use it, you wonder: why didn’t Google come up with this ten years ago? Click on a feature on the map — a baseball diamond, a marina, a roundabout — and it immediately highlights everything its algorithm thinks looks like it. It’s remarkably fast, simple to use, and potentially very powerful. Read MoreTerrapattern is a neural net powered reverse image search for ...
Turn-by-turn navigation application Waze announced this morning a handy new feature that will make it easier for those who are planning to drive to an upcoming appointment, meeting or other important trip: Waze Planned Drives. The option allows you to tell the app when you need to reach your destination, and it will then alert you as to when you should leave, while taking into… Read MoreWaze now tells you when to leave, thanks to its ...
Waze, the popular Google-owned navigation app that excels in helping drivers route around traffic and be alerted to other road hazards in real-time, is today announcing partnerships with half a dozen companies in the on-demand and transportation space worldwide, including Lyft, who will integrate Waze software into their own applications to provide routing and guidance. This, in turn will… Read More