Has it ever happened that you and your friends wanted to reach the same location at the same time but were travelling from different places? Google wants to help you in the planning and travelling of such a situation with their Google Maps app. While the feature might not pop up on your phone tomorrow, Google has filed a patent for it, so it's pretty close. Here is all you need to know about it.
The Patent
Google reportedly filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (via @xleaks7) on June 25 that shows the tech giant is working on a feature that lets users from different locations navigate to a shared destination within a particular time. The name Google opted for is "Providing Navigation Instructions to One Device in View of Another Device," which will work as a navigation service that can coordinate travel for multiple customers heading to the same place from different starting points.
Perfect Planning
This service will have access to users' calendar schedules and messages to understand their travel plans and time for reaching. If it detects more than 1 user, it can send them invites asking them to join the multi-car navigation and provide directions to the same destination within similar timeframes. That's not it; they might also be able to request multi-car navigation explicitly when planning trips. Google Maps will also provide ETA information for all group members, helping you track when others are expected to arrive at the destination.
Tussle-Free Travelling
The navigation service can update the locations of all users on the map (So no lying about I'm almost there when you're getting out of bed?), highlight routes shared by the group, find waiting spots in case users want to wait and suggest speed adjustments to ensure all users reach on similar times. It will also relay traffic and road condition data to all vehicles based on information from the lead vehicle in the group, ensuring real-time updates and better planning. Additionally, it can notify users if a vehicle in the group goes the wrong way and suggest stops to let other drivers make up the time and distance. Users will be able to use this feature on their phones if it is working on itself or if it is connected to a vehicle's infotainment system via USB or Bluetooth.
Apple recently introduced its next-generation Carplay, which can control all screens in a car. It will be interesting to see if Google tries something similar after this patent.
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