I think it is very easy to take it for granted, but I think that Google Maps is one of the most influential applications that has been developed since the dawn of the smartphone. It’s made navigating to places that you have no idea about easier than it’s ever been, and with info on notable locations everywhere, it’s fantastic.
Google Maps is constantly improving and it seems that there might be a huge update that might show up at some point in the future. A patent has been spotted for a feature that will make it immensely easier for several people to co-navigate and meet up at a single location, even when coming from different spots.
Google Maps Has A Patent Describing A Co-Navigation Feature
Thanks to Igilta and David Kowalski (xleaks7 on X), we’ve been able to see a patent from Google describing a new feature that it intends for Google Maps. Of course, considering that this is still a patent, it might not be coming anytime soon and it’ll be very hard to predict when it will — in fact, it might not even be in development at the moment, so keep that in mind.
Navigation on Google Maps is incredibly easy for one person or one vehicle. That’s how it’s intended to be used after all, so finding your way to a scenic town several hours away isn’t as complicated as it might seem. But what if you’re traveling in a group, with five separate vehicles moving from different locations toward a common destination? For instance, a family trip or a weekend getaway for friends in a cabin in the woods. Navigating as a group then becomes a little more complex, especially when the trip will take a very long time.
Sure, you can call each other or open a group chat, but that doesn’t solve all the problems and it can also be rather clunky to use. This is where Google’s new feature comes in. This will supposedly be able to organize multi-car co-navigation for you, making it easy for you and your friends to find your way to a common destination.
This System Will Bring A Lot Of Features To Revolutionize Group Travel By Road
If this feature pans out exactly the way that the visionaries at Google HQ have planned it out in their heads, it looks like it could be an absolute game-changer for those group trips. Of course, there’s going to be a lot going on behind the scenes in the software department, but it should be able to add some of the following functionality to the Google Maps app:
- Suggest meeting points for group participants based on the route that each person is expected to follow
- Make tracking the distance and time difference between each traveler easier
- Provide voice chat that can be used instead of a group call or texts
- Collect and send information from whoever is designated as the lead vehicle, such as data on road conditions, traffic, and parking locations
- Communicate speed adjustments or stop instructions for users who may be way ahead of others
When I was younger and traveled to an unfamiliar location with my family and another family, we had to use walkie-talkies and good old paper maps to keep on track with one another. Thankfully, technology can solve this problem, and you can do everything on your phone.
