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Google Maps’ New App To Improve “You Are Here” Blue Dot To Indoor Maps

When Google Maps for Android started providing indoor maps for facilities like malls and airports, it came equipped with the helpful “You Are Here” blue dot that indicated to, yes, indeed,...
Google Maps’ New App To Improve “You Are Here” Blue Dot To Indoor Maps
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  • When Google Maps for Android started providing indoor maps for facilities like malls and airports, it came equipped with the helpful “You Are Here” blue dot that indicated to, yes, indeed, you are in fact here. Google Maps has since decided that maybe they can improve upon that function, though, since the indoors can be a hairy place to navigate and have launched a new developer app called Google Maps Floor Plan Marker.

    Essentially, if your facility is one of the places that’s uploaded an indoor map to Google Maps, the Google Maps Floor Plan Marker is a tool you can use to give Google Maps feedback about the insides of your facility that will ultimately help visitors find their way around a little better. The Lat Long Blog’s announcement explains:

    If you’ve uploaded a floor plan through the Google Maps Floor Plans tool, once you install the Google Maps Floor Plan Marker app, you’ll be guided through the process of walking around the entire surface area of your place of interest. Using the app, you collect data from sources such as GPS, cell tower, and publicly broadcast WiFi information that can help us make the My Location feature’s familiar “blue dot” icon accessible for Android users when they’re inside the venue. The time it takes to complete this process depends on the size of the venue, but you can pause and resume a marking task at any time if you want to take breaks.

    Realistically, some poor secretary or intern is more than likely going to be the one assigned to canvasing literally the entire walking area of the building(s), but at least getting up and walking for a few hours may help pass the workday a little quicker.

    In case you’re somehow unfamiliar with how Google Maps for the indoor environs works, here’s Google’s video that explains it:

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