Google adds indoor maps to Google Maps for Android
Looking for the nearest bathroom in a shopping mall, the men's shop in a department store or the closest ATM at an airport? Consult your phone.
With today's launch of Google Maps for Android 6.0, Google is adding indoor mapping capabilities, supplying stand-alone directories to your Android handset that are tied to airports, malls, retail stores and transit stations in the U.S. and Japan.
The company made the announcement in a blog post.
In a multifloor store such as Macy's, which happens to be one of the initial launch partners on the new maps feature, Google says the phone will be able to determine the actual floor you're on, and serve up the appropriate directory. The directory on your phone will change as you go from one floor to another.
Other retail launch partners include Bloomingdale's, Home Depot, Ikea and the Mall of America. Google will have 18 airport partners at launch, as well, including airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle.
A "blue dot" on the Android map will indicate your location in a building — Google says your indoor location will be accurate to within several meters.
Google's Steve Lee told me that retail and other partners need not add any additional equipment to make this all work, though they'd have to supply floor plans and building layouts. Lee says Google is using the same sources of information that it uses for outdoor mapping, but optimized those sources for indoor use.
At maps.google.com/floorplans Google is providing tools to business owners to update their floorplans, blueprints or layouts.
Google Maps 6.0 is compatible with Android OS version 2.1 or higher.
"Eventually, we'd like to reach all users in any public space," Lee says.
Google is not the only company tackling indoor location. A U.K-based location-aware technology company called CSR, said recently that it has cracked indoor navigation by rigging a phone with a chip and software that can gather real-time information from GPS and other satellite systems.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...door-maps-to-google-maps-for-android/1?csp=ip
Looking for the nearest bathroom in a shopping mall, the men's shop in a department store or the closest ATM at an airport? Consult your phone.
With today's launch of Google Maps for Android 6.0, Google is adding indoor mapping capabilities, supplying stand-alone directories to your Android handset that are tied to airports, malls, retail stores and transit stations in the U.S. and Japan.
The company made the announcement in a blog post.
In a multifloor store such as Macy's, which happens to be one of the initial launch partners on the new maps feature, Google says the phone will be able to determine the actual floor you're on, and serve up the appropriate directory. The directory on your phone will change as you go from one floor to another.
Other retail launch partners include Bloomingdale's, Home Depot, Ikea and the Mall of America. Google will have 18 airport partners at launch, as well, including airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Seattle.
A "blue dot" on the Android map will indicate your location in a building — Google says your indoor location will be accurate to within several meters.
Google's Steve Lee told me that retail and other partners need not add any additional equipment to make this all work, though they'd have to supply floor plans and building layouts. Lee says Google is using the same sources of information that it uses for outdoor mapping, but optimized those sources for indoor use.
At maps.google.com/floorplans Google is providing tools to business owners to update their floorplans, blueprints or layouts.
Google Maps 6.0 is compatible with Android OS version 2.1 or higher.
"Eventually, we'd like to reach all users in any public space," Lee says.
Google is not the only company tackling indoor location. A U.K-based location-aware technology company called CSR, said recently that it has cracked indoor navigation by rigging a phone with a chip and software that can gather real-time information from GPS and other satellite systems.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...door-maps-to-google-maps-for-android/1?csp=ip
