As anyone who has used Google Maps’ walking navigation feature in a major city can attest, the app doesn’t always get it right. Relying on GPS technology to guide users from one precise location to another can be a rather tenuous endeavor in an urban environment, where visibility from the ground can be low and GPS signals are often interrupted by tall structures.
“We’re experimenting with a way to solve this problem using a technique we call global localization, which combines Visual Positioning Service (VPS), Street View, and machine learning to more accurately identify position and orientation. Using the smartphone camera as a sensor, this technology enables a more powerful and intuitive way to help people quickly determine which way to go,” the company said Monday on the Google AI Blog.