One of the most notable Maps updates Google announced is the ability to reduce drivers’ chances of having hard-braking moments along a route. In its blog post about the updates, Google said that the new feature is meant to minimize these hard-braking moments that can increase the likelihood of a car crash. To calculate these safer routes, Google said Maps identifies multiple route options to your destination based on factors like how many lanes a road has and how direct a route is. Google said it uses machine learning and navigation information to take the fastest routes and identify which one is most likely to reduce your chances of encountering one of these hard-braking moments while on the road. “We believe that these changes have the potential to eliminate 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps each year, so you can rely on Maps to get you from A to B quickly—but also more safely,” Google said in its blog post. In addition to that update, Google is making maps more tailored to users by highlighting relevant places based on the time of day you open maps and whether or not you’re traveling. Google gives the example of opening Maps on a weekday at 8 a.m. and showing nearby coffee shops rather than dinner spots. Other Google Maps updates include showing the relative business of an entire area and more cities added to the detailed street maps feature. Google said all of these features would be available in Google Maps on Android and iOS systems in the coming months. Google I/O takes place Tuesday, May 18 through Thursday, May 20, with programs and presentations daily. See all our coverage of Google I/O 2021 here.
