The two most used maps and point-to-point navigation apps are owned by the same company, but that doesn’t mean they stop competing with each other: Google Maps and Waze, despite being very different at their core, They offer almost the same functions. And so far there is one area where the second surpasses the first: group navigation. That’s about changing.

Are you more of a Waze fan or do you prefer Google Maps when sitting in the car? When it comes to driving, there are usually two sides that are perfectly differentiated according to their favorite navigation app, and both are from Google. Because Maps are greatly improved with real-time data from Waze; this uses mapping and Google servers. This constant change will bring new change.

Group navigation is a feature coming to Google Maps in the future

Travel group participation recommendation

In addition to hardware patents, where each manufacturer records the changes it develops for its own devices, companies also ensure that the interfaces and functions of applications remain under their own domain. Google Maps is one of these applications: According to a patent filed at the end of June, Google balance the trips of several people so everyone meets at the same point.

Imagine you’re planning a trip with a few friends, each leaving from a different location in their own vehicle. You can follow each other’s routes with Google Maps, but you’ll have to manually plan each intersection to meet on the way to your destination. This means calculate distances, routes, departure times…Google Maps can do it all.

As revealed by Igilta.eu, Google has been granted a patent related to group travel on June 25. According to the patent registered in the United States, Google Maps will coordinate trips for multiple users This way, you can reach the same goal together without having to plan anything manually.

Google Maps will be responsible for planning using the company’s AI. According to the patent, when the app detects that several friends want to travel to the same place, Google Maps may suggest a common route. Users will have the option to accept or reject the invitation. By doing so:

• Google Maps will offer to create a navigation groupThe application will process the invitations and create the partner group.
• Google Maps will coordinate the route in real timeYou will be able to rearrange the route if any of the participants get ahead of you, or you will even have the option to coordinate stops to combine routes.
• Google Maps will share traffic data with all users in the group.
• It will show where each member of the group is in real time.. Participants will know where the rest are going, their route and times.
• Google Maps will enable voice calling so that all participants can communicate with the group.
• Once the group reaches the destination, Google Maps will automatically terminate the group.

Planning stops on a per-user basis

If you use Waze, you’ve already seen a lot of similarities to this Google Maps patent: group navigation shares participants’ locations, enables communication, and provides updated traffic information. Still, Maps goes further with proactive coordination and better route suggestionsall thanks to Google AI.

Although patented, it is not clear that Google Maps will introduce group navigation anytime soon, but it is certain that this function will eventually be adapted. Whether it will have full AI features or will remain limited is not yet clear: what is clear is that Google wants to bridge the gap between Maps and WazeChoosing one or the other will be more than ever a matter of taste.

Cover image | Created mid-journey

More information | United States Patent Office

via | Igilta.eu

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