Google Maps launches augmented reality directions for interior spaces

Google on Tuesday announced several new features coming to Google Maps. The coolest will help you find your way around indoor spaces like airports, malls, and train stations using augmented reality.

The updated Live View AR feature, which overlays digital guides on the real world to give you directions as you look on your phone screen, now works indoors. So let’s say you are at an airport and you need to find your boarding gate or an ATM. You search for what you are looking for in Google Maps and markers will guide you with arrows and other number markers.

Here is an example:

Live View for Google Maps first launched for Android and iPhone in 2019, but it initially only provided this kind of directions to the outdoors. You can access Live View by searching for something in Google Maps on your phone, tapping “Directions,” then, if available, tapping the “Live View” option next to “Start”.

Google said it was first deployed in select malls in Chicago, Long Island, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. In the coming months, it will also be launched at airports, shopping malls and transit stations in Tokyo and Zurich. Other cities and locations will also support the feature.

Google’s Big Maps update also includes other features that will roll out in the coming months, such as information on air quality, integration with grocery stores for curbside pickup and a option to select the most environmentally friendly route when driving.