- Google Maps is getting AI-powered live lane guidance for your journeys
- You’ll get hints on screen if you’re currently in the wrong lane
- The feature is coming to the Polestar 4 first, in the US and Sweden
One of the trickiest parts of getting from A to B on the road, especially in built-up areas and unfamiliar territory, is knowing which lane you’re supposed to be in – and Google Maps is about to improve this aspect of its navigation interface.
As per a post on its official blog, Google says that AI-powered live lane guidance is coming to Google Maps. It will use the front-facing camera on the vehicle to see which lane you’re currently in, and tell you to move over if you need to.
“So if you’re in the far left lane and your exit is on the right, live lane guidance automatically detects this and uses clear audio and visual cues to remind you to merge in time,” explains Google.
The catch? It only works for cars with Google software built right into the dashboard (so not Android Auto). The rollout is starting with the Polestar 4 in the US and Sweden “in the coming months”, and as yet no other cars have been mentioned.
Less stress on the road
This is certainly a welcome upgrade, albeit one with limited availability for now. It looks as though the on-screen nudges will be fairly gentle ones, so they won’t add to the stress of having to drive along difficult intersections and road networks.
Google Maps already offers some lane guidance, on both phones and Android Auto, to show you which lane you need to be in – but the benefit with the new system is that Google Maps will actually be able to tell if you’re not where you need to be.
Based on my own personal experience, the lane guidance that’s already in Google Maps can sometimes be hard to figure out, especially on roads where the lanes are changing at a fairly rapid pace. Of course you also need to keep eyes on the road at the same time.
To Google’s credit, Google Maps is one of the apps that is regularly getting new features and improvements, including to the user interface. It also looks as though there will be a power-saving mode for navigation added in the near future.
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