Online buyers will soon feel as if they’re flying a drone over a potential home. It’s only in a few cities so far, but with plans to expand over time.
NEW YORK – A new Google feature may give house hunters get an aerial look at neighborhoods and communities before they visit in person. Recent descriptions of the new feature describe it as a 3D view – like flying a drone over an area.
The Google Maps’ new “immersive view” feature is limited to only a few markets so far, such as New York and Los Angeles, but Google says more areas will be added soon.
The “immersive view” allows users to drop to street level for a closer look, and they can “float” around to see nearby areas. It helps them better understand an area’s topography and rotate their perspective to look between buildings, see nearby restaurants and scan the surroundings.
The images in immersive view aren’t real, however. They’re computer-generated, combining Google’s satellite and street view images.
“We’re able to fuse those together so that we can actually understand, okay, these are the heights of the buildings,” Liz Reid, vice president of engineering at Google, told The Verge.
Source: Blog. Google and “Google Maps’ New ‘Immersive View’ Combines Street View With Satellites,” The Verge (May 11, 2022)
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