Google Maps can now use Live View AR to calibrate location


In addition to Lens, Google’s big bet on augmented reality is in Maps. AR’s walking instructions were released to Android and iOS last year, with more features on the way. Google Maps now uses Live View to calibrate your location.

Google believes that “GPS falls short” in dense urban environments where there is heavy interference from buildings. Your solution leverages your device’s camera and years of Street View data to visually determine where you are.

When you start Live View, you are first asked to point to buildings, street signs, and other surroundings. This helps Google Maps know which direction you are looking. A compass is traditionally used for this step when getting instructions, but many know that moving your phone in a “figure 8” is cumbersome and sometimes doesn’t really seem to work.

Google now allows you to “Calibrate with Live View” to improve the accuracy of the blue dot on Maps. Most are familiar with the point that marks the current location of a beam to indicate which direction it is pointing. The narrower beams are more accurate than the wider ones.

Tapping the blue circle will open a full screen menu with the new option at the bottom under “Save your parking”. This will launch the same camera user interface used by Live View and should only take a few seconds to pan.

Then its location must be very precise and not jump. Meanwhile, the beam is replaced by a solid arrow.

Calibrate with Live View is live on various ARCore-compatible Android devices that we verify today with the latest stable and beta versions of Google Maps. It is not available on iOS.

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