New AI model for Google Maps was designed specifically for Indian roads. It estimates road width using satellite imagery and Street View data to help drivers better navigate flyovers and narrow roads often met in India.
Google Maps today introduced a few crucial improvements to the services available to Indian users just in time when a local competitor entered the market.
From now on, Google Maps users in India will be able to master their narrow road navigation, receive flyover alerts, and access EV charging station information. In select cities, users can even book metro and train tickets directly from Google Maps and access curated lists of popular places to visit.
According to Lalitha Ramani, the general manager of Google Maps India, pointing out upcoming flyovers along the routes was one of the most requested functions. Alerts of narrow roads were also highly thought for. Thus, the new AI model now considers information such as the type of road, distance between buildings, tree cover, poles and drains to help drivers avoid narrow roads.
Google has customised its existing AI routing models accordingly to avoid narrow roads, wherever possible, when the user selects the four-wheeler mode. If unavoidable, the service shall alert the driver about the narrow road ahead.
Not only car drivers would benefit from the new Google Maps functionality. “Reducing four-wheelers on narrow roads means bikers who are using the two-wheeler mode, or pedestrians who are using the walking mode in Google Maps, can use these roads more safely,” said Lalitha Ramani, general manager, Google Maps, India.
The above mentioned feature launches for Android devices in eight cities first to be rolled out to iOS shortly. Flyover callouts will be rolled out in 40 cities across India. They first come to Android devices and Android Auto but will also be available on Apple’s CarPlay soon.
This week, the company is rolling out support for booking metro tickets in Kochi and Chennai from within Google Maps. The feature will eventually expand to cover more cities and support additional transport means. Starting this week, Indians will be also able to see recommended places to visit in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur.
The new functions are powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Besides, Google is collaborating with leading local EV charging station providers and data aggregators, including ElectricPe, Ather, Kazam, and Statiq to reflect the most up-to-date information about the service stations including those designed for two-wheeler EV charging. This feature is unique, as in all the other destinations globally, one can get information only about car charging stations.
Besides the AI-powered functions, the Maps interface was updated to facilitate reporting crashes, slowdowns, construction, lane closures, stalled vehicles, and objects on the road via tappable icons.
Notably, the vital update comes shortly after the arrival of an Indian-based mapping service competitor – a startup called Ola – on the market. Google also slashed the price of Google Maps application programming interfaces (APIs) for developers in India by 70%.
Similar features designed to help users navigate complex intersections and flyovers have previously existed on alternative digital map platforms like the MapMyIndia-owned Mappls app.
Boosting the map navigation services with AI is only one way to improve the traffic situation in India. As we have previously reported, ITMS “smart” city tech can save thousands of lives each year.
