Google Maps Might Have Animated Overlays In The Future

Google Maps might be one of the most essential apps that comes bundled with Android. It's not like navigation systems never existed before it came along, but to have that power on your smartphone in an easily operable form, along with so much additional information… It's hard to say that Maps isn't extraordinary.

And yet, Google never stops improving the application continually. If one of the tech giant's latest patents is to be believed, we might see the most significant change in the Google Maps interface since we got to know it.

Google Maps May Get A Sort Of Simulated Real-Time Street View Feature

Thanks to a Google patent unearthed by ParkiFly and notorious X tipster OnLeaks, there may be a major update that Google is working on for Google Maps. Remember that a patent doesn't signal active development, but it shows that the company sees the technology as a possibility.

According to the patent filed by Google and published on February 29th, what they intend to do can be summarized by this direct quote:

…presenting an animation of a geographic area based on current conditions within the geographic area

So, let me try to break that down for you. Google aims to show you a map the way the application currently does. However, there will be an option to generate an animated map model that assesses the current conditions of the area you're looking at — weather, traffic, buildings, time of day, crowd conditions, and more — and simulate those conditions in the animation. Think of it like a real-time generation of Street View. It's also expected that you'll be able to view the area from multiple angles.

This is a pretty crazy concept, and it would make it a lot easier to instantly assess what an area is like before you set off for it. However, the complexity of it doesn't make me expect to see it this year or even the next. I still think it is a very cool idea, but that's if it works exactly as Google intends since it would require a lot of data. Maybe Gemini will be involved in some way.

What Conditions Will This Technology Be Able To Represent?

The patent tells us a lot about the different environmental conditions that this animated Maps overlay is meant to simulate, and it is a very impressive list. Part of me still wonders how exactly they might be able to pull it off, but if there's one thing I've learned, never doubt Google and how much they love to refine things.

Here is a list of some of the conditions this tech is expected to be able to represent:

All of this will be anonymized (just like how Google Street View blurs people's faces) since it will just be an artificial representation of the conditions in that area and not an accurate simulation of the exact people and vehicles.