The New Immersive View of Google Maps Arrives in Prague: This is How it Works

Thanks to Google’s new maps feature, you can take a closer look at Prague Castle. Immersive View brings digital models of cities, including virtual visits to landmarks and other iconic places.

Developers at Google have billions of Street View and aerial images with which to compose their maps. This year, they introduced a new feature that’s largely thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. They have been able to create a realistic digital model of the world from available data.

They have now expanded it to include four new cities as well as 500 landmarks around the world. With your phone, you can see what the Acropolis in Athens, the Colosseum in Rome, and Prague Castle look like from every angle.

Maybe you’re planning a trip to Paris and want to go to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. With Google Maps, you can both virtually “hover” over the building and see where the main entrance is. Using the timeline, you can then explore how the site changes at different times of the day and what the weather forecast looks like.

In addition, if the necessary data is available, you can also take a look inside the surrounding restaurants and cafés – and make a reservation right away. All you have to do is select the landmark you want to explore and click on its name directly on the map.

A video will then pop up in the image section to give you a better, all-round view of the monument. The service, called Immersive View, has been available in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo since the beginning of the year, and is being rolled out gradually this month in Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, and Venice.

In addition, it will feature over 500 landmarks and iconic sites from all corners of the world. You can also take an in-depth look at Florence’s Pitti Palace, Venice’s Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, and the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. The Czech Republic is also included in the expansion, as the maps will now include a digital model of Prague Castle.

Immersive View will also allow you to explore Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the National Museum, the Petrin Lookout Tower, and other monuments and sites in the capital.

To create detailed digital models, Google uses so-called neural radiation fields (NeRF), an advanced artificial intelligence technology that converts classic images into three-dimensional form.

Using NeRF technology, an exact replica of a place can be created in the digital space, including its lighting, the texture of the materials, and what’s in the background.