Last Tuesday the search engine giant, Google, released an interesting innovation. They rolled out indoor maps at 18 U.S. airports, several malls; select Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Home Depot and Ikea stores; and a bunch of airports, train stations and malls in Japan.
Looking for the nearest Starbucks to your gate, or the children’s section at Ikea (or just the exit)? If you’ve got an Android phone, Google can now help.
“When you’re inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help,” Brian McClendon, vice president of engineering for Google Earth and Maps, wrote. “Starting today, with the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you’re on, and where to go indoors.”
Google Maps for Android now pulls up the floor plans when you zoom in, shows your location within a few meters and updates when you change floors. Google plans to keep adding new indoor locations and is taking submissions for you to add your location.
Google said it had “no specific timing to share” on when it might make indoor maps available outside of Android and no news on extra functionality.