Google Maps is rolling out new features in India utilizing AI to assist drivers navigate simply by flyovers and narrow roads in the world’s most populous nation, with huge roads with obstructions and a number of flyovers to cope with site visitors congestion.
On Thursday, Google introduced that it had constructed an AI mannequin particularly for Indian roads that estimated highway width utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery together with Street View information. The mannequin additionally considers data corresponding to the kind of highway, distance between buildings, tree covers, poles and drains to assist riders keep away from narrow roads.
Navigational features
Google Maps reveals routes avoiding narrow roads when a consumer chooses the four-wheeler mode whereas navigating. However, Google stated the replace would additionally assist bikers in the two-wheeler mode and pedestrians in the strolling mode to navigate by narrow Indian roads safely.
Sometimes, you continue to want to move by a narrow highway, particularly in case your vacation spot is on a good road. For this, Google Maps has added callouts to the navigation to warn you about narrow sections forward.
Google stated the narrow roads function is initially being applied on Android gadgets in eight cities and will debut on iOS quickly.
In addition to the power to keep away from narrow roads, Google Maps has built-in flyover callouts inside the navigation expertise to let customers see upcoming flyovers alongside their route and decide about whether or not they need to undergo the flyover beforehand.
Until now, Google Maps instructed drivers to “take a ramp” whereas getting on or off the flyover, however the time period just isn’t generally used in India. Plus, the maps additionally prompt drivers to take “[Road name] road.” However, in India, drivers may not know the highway’s identify, or the identify just isn’t prominently displayed, inflicting extra confusion. In this case, a transparent instruction like “Take a flyover” is a greater immediate.
Flyover callouts might be rolled out in 40 cities throughout India in four-wheeler and two-wheeler navigation for Android gadgets and Android Auto. The function can even be out there on Apple’s CarPlay quickly, Google stated.
Additionally, Google Maps has added EV charging stations in India — over 5 years after it was initially rolled out in the U.S. in 2018. Google has partnered with EV charging suppliers and aggregators corresponding to ElectricPe, Ather Energy, Kazam and Statiq to present details about over 8,000 charging stations on Google Maps in India.
Users will see data corresponding to plug sorts supported on the out there stations after they seek for charging stations on Google Maps.
Notably, it’s also the primary time that Google Maps is displaying two-wheeler EV charging stations, as the worldwide rollout was for four-wheelers, on condition that electrical two-wheelers dominate the Indian EV market.
Public transport
Google introduced a partnership with India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an infrastructural open-source community, and Namma Yatri, a Google-backed ride-hailing app for an end-to-end reserving expertise of native trains, autorickshaws, and metro rides.
This week, the corporate is rolling out the power for customers to e book Metro tickets in Kochi and Chennai straight inside the Google Maps interface by the Namma Yatri integration. Users will get their ticket in a QR code type after the cost. Google added that it’s going to add extra cities and further modes of transport down the road.
Notably, Google Maps was used to show Uber and Ola cab costs when customers typed in a vacation spot. However, the function was ultimately discontinued The firm stated that the partnership with Namma Yatri and ONDC is a deeper integration and the function is right here to keep.
Google additionally added that “Where is my train?” app, which it acquired in 2018, for practice monitoring in India has greater than 100 million month-to-month lively customers;
Earlier this yr, Google rolled out curated lists of locations in choose U.S. cities and Canada. The firm is now bringing this function to India in partnership with Magicpin and NDTV Food. Starting this week, customers might be ready to see these lists in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur. Google Maps will floor these lists when customers seek for phrases like “Best Ocean-View Cafes in Goa” or “Top breakfast places in Mumbai.”
The firm stated that it has additionally up to date its interface to make it simpler for customers to report incidents like crashes, slowdowns, building, lane closures, stalled autos, and objects on the highway by tappable icons throughout Android, iOS, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay.