Google Maps AR Navigation Feature Comes to Android and iPhone

Google's "Live View" AR navigation feature is finally being implemented on Android and iOS devices. Announced last year at Google's annual developer conference I/O, the feature is now being implemented on Android devices and iPhones compatible with ARCore and ARKit.

Live View navigation uses the so-called Visual Positioning System (VPS) to give you direction. Hold the phone's camera and the Maps app will visually locate your location and help you navigate with augmented reality markers. Earlier this year the mode went into private tests.

This is quite a progress from traditional compass-based navigation on phones, which is inaccurate and can cause confusion when standing or moving at low speed.

The VPS system compares camera data with data captured from the Google Street View program to help place a user in their environment.

Google demonstrated a system in which an AR fox or other creature would guide it to its destination, but that feature is not yet being released to the public.