Google, the digital giant, has launched a number of AI-powered map features, including address descriptors, lens integration, and live-view walking navigation, in a first-of-its-kind initiative for India.
According to a statement from Google, these features were created to provide Indian users with a more customised and localised map experience.
Google Maps serves millions of users with more than 50 million daily searches in India, where it has mapped millions of kilometers of roads and 300 million structures. AI technology improves commute choices by offering daily traffic forecasts for more than 2.5 billion kilometers of routes. Over 900 million interactions between customers and businesses are made each month thanks to Google Maps, which provides information on 30 million businesses, the statement continued.
Let’s examine the recently added features:
An All-inclusive Map Tailored To Meet The Requirements Of Indian Users
To better assist Indian users, Google Maps has concentrated on adding important locations in the last several years, such as government agencies, healthcare institutions, and places of worship. A recent innovation introduced for the first time in India, Address Descriptors, improves address understanding by automatically detecting up to five nearby area names and landmarks. By streamlining location sharing, this function helps users explore new locations more easily.
“We introduced this feature earlier this year on the Google Maps Platform to assist Indian developers in taking use of more user-friendly addressing alternatives. According to a Google article, “We’re now expanding this to developers across over 75 cities in the country.”
Better Illustrated And Immersive Navigation Maps
The company has released Live View walking navigation and Lens in Maps. With the release of Street View a year ago, Google Maps users may now view and explore more than 3,000 cities and villages.
By using the camera, Lens in Maps enables users to quickly identify neighboring eateries and cafes. It will be available in 15 locations by January 2024. With arrows and distance indicators, Live View walking navigation would be available for over 3,000 Indian cities, initially on Android. These developments create immersive experiences by fusing cutting-edge AI and AR with Street View photos.
Meeting The Varied Mobility Requirements of India
By January of the following year, Google Maps will launch a fuel-efficient routing function for two- and four-wheelers in India, encouraging sustainability. This function takes into account road elevation, vehicle type, and real-time traffic data, and has already been projected to have averted 2.4 million metric tons of CO2e globally.
“We have collaborated with multiple local authorities to achieve this goal over the years, allowing millions of users to access information about buses, trains, and metros in more than 20 Indian cities.”
The Where Is My Train app, which is used by over 80 million people each month and provides information on delays, schedule changes, and platform numbers for passengers using public transportation, is now covering local trains in Mumbai and Kolkata.
The business behind the “Where is My Train” app, Bengaluru-based startup Sigmoid Labs, was acquired by Google in December 2018. The purpose of the app is to use technology to enhance the travel experience of millions of Indian train passengers.
Additionally, Google announced collaborations with Namma Yatri and ONDC on Tuesday with the goal of providing consumers with metro schedules and bookings. By the middle of next year, Kochi Metro—powered by Namma Yatri—is anticipated to debut on Google Maps. Other metros are likely to follow as they become members of the ONDC Network.
The digital map market is anticipated to reach a valuation of $18.3 billion in 2023 and increase at a predicted rate of $73.1 billion by 2033, according to Future Market Insights. It is projected that the market would grow at a 14.8% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.
Competitor MapmyIndia to Google Maps is attempting to generate INR 500 Cr through the issuance of equity shares via a qualified institutional placement (QIP).
