Google launches indoor maps in India

NEW DELHI: Google on Wednesday announced the availability of indoor maps in India. The company said that users of Google Maps on Android, iOS and personal computers can now access the floor plans of 75 places in 22 Indian cities. Most of these 75 places are shopping malls but museums and convention halls also find a mention in the list. Similarly, while most of these places are located in big cities like Delhi and Mumbai, some buildings from Raipur and Ludhiana too are a part of the project. "We launched indoor maps in countries like the US earlier. Now we are bringing it to India. We worked with mall owners and authorities that manage a place to get the floor plans and location details and have added that information to Google Maps," Suren Ruhela, director and product manager, India Google Maps, told TOI. "For now we are starting with 75 places. But as we get feedback from consumers and work with more partners, we hope to add more places." The indoor maps will be available to consumers immediately. Those who use Google Maps on Android phones or iPhones will be prompted for an update to their maps app and once they have updated app, they will be able to use indoor maps option. "Malls are getting bigger and there are occasions when we are looking for a shop and can't find it. Through the indoor maps feature, you can locate the shop with help of your phone. You don't have to go all the way back to a mall's main gate to look for the floor plan," said Ruhela. The feature uses several techniques to find the location of a user. The most important of these is the ability to look for Wi-Fi. Inside building GPS signals are very weak. Hence, Google is relying on a phone's ability to scan for Wi-Fi and then the Wi-Fi details to determine location. Ruhela said that indoor maps feature would work best when a user has the Wi-Fi scanning option turned on in the phone. He clarified that for this feature the phone only needs to scan for networks and doesn't have to connect to them. Google said that detailed floor plans will automatically appear when you're using the Google Maps app on iOS and Android, and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. Zoom out and the indoor maps will fade away. For all 75 buildings, floor plans are available. But Suren added that for around 15 of these places, Google will also offer "location feature". "In some locations, you'll have the option of using the indoor My Location feature to help you navigate your way inside. Where available, the familiar 'blue dot' icon can help indicate your approximate location in order to help you more easily find your way. This means that when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the map will automatically update to display which floor you're on. At these locations, you can also access indoor walking directions to help you get to where you need to go more quickly," said a Google spokesperson. Google says that so far indoor maps are available in over 10,000 places across the world. Nokia, the company which maintains Here Maps, also offers a similar feature. Last year the company announced that it would offer indoor maps of around 20 places in India. However, the feature is only available to Nokia Lumia and Asha phone users.   TOI