Google is developing new features for Google Maps aimed at enhancing navigation experiences beyond just driving. One of the latest additions is a walking directions setting designed to help users avoid direct sunlight as much as possible. This feature is especially useful during peak UV hours in hot summer months. While those familiar with a city might naturally select shaded routes, this new Google Maps feature would assist users in finding shaded paths even in unfamiliar neighborhoods.
Discovered by Android Authority in the latest Android version of Google Maps, the “Prefer shade” toggle will appear in the Trip Options menu once launched. Interestingly, the app’s code suggests an option to choose walking routes in the sun as well, which could be beneficial in cooler fall and winter months when more sunlight is desirable. The app will also display the duration of time spent walking in the sun. However, currently, only the “Prefer shade” toggle is visible in the Trip Options menu.
There is some uncertainty about how Google will differentiate between shady and sunny portions of routes. Other apps use LiDAR technology to map shaded paths, and Google’s Street View cars are equipped with LiDAR sensors, which may aid the “Prefer shade” feature. Additionally, since Google Maps focuses on navigation, it could use simpler algorithms factoring in the time of day, geographic location, and waypoints on a walking route to estimate how sunny or shaded a street might be at a given time, although such calculations might not fully account for shade from street vegetation.
Regarding Project Sunroof technology
Google already possesses technology that maps sun exposure. Launched in 2015, Project Sunroof is a Google Maps feature designed not for navigation but to help users decide if installing solar panels on their roofs is feasible. Using Google Maps data, it assesses how much sunlight a house receives and estimates potential electricity generation from solar panels.
A video from when Project Sunroof launched explains, “We could take the information that’s already in Google Maps and use it to show how much sunlight falls on a roof. Then we can combine that with all the other stuff people need to figure out and create kind of a treasure map of solar energy.” Since then, Google has updated its Solar API in Google Maps. This existing technology could be adapted to enhance walking directions by considering shade levels along the route.
With the surge of AI advancements in recent years, including Google’s advanced Gemini models integrated into Google Maps, it’s plausible that Google could enrich a feature like Project Sunroof with AI capabilities and repurpose it for the new shade preference function found by Android Authority. While this remains speculative, the foundational technology needed for this feature already exists.
