Google Maps + Uber + ??

Google Maps + Uber + ??

Sup? 

Classic DC scenario: You went to a concert. It’s over. Time to head home. You didn’t drive (responsible move, good work). So, what’s the plan? 

Option one: brave public transportation with the masses. The herd of people heading for the subway reminds you of the stampede that killed Mufasa. Thank you, next... 

Maybe an Uber or Lyft? You fire up the apps and see the dreaded “surge” icon (2x normal fares). Nope. 

What's your next move? Your hunter-gatherer instincts kick-in and you start to walk. You continue your quest for a cheap ride home.

Now imagine you could open the Google Maps app and see, using an AR visualization, how far you have to walk to hail a ride-share or hit public transit (or, perhaps, satisfy late night munchies)? Why is this better? Because you don’t have to try to drop pins on different locations and play the “what-if” game. You and your crew don’t have time for that. 

A week ago, Google Maps took a big step towards making this first-world problem disappear. 

Last summer, they, they showed off a pretty slick demo about what Google Maps would look like layered with AR. AR and GPS are like peanut butter and jelly: made for each other. And, bonus: -this a use case is “safe” for the masses. 

And just last week, Google announced the integration of AR into Google Maps. It's available to a limited set of users, but expect a wider roll-out in the coming years. 

This Google Maps/AR romance could also provide an opportunity for competitors to (re)enter the fray. Remember TomTom? It’s still around. Last month, it sold its telematics and fleet management business to Bridgestone Tires... for $1 billion

This freed them to focus on competing with Alphabet for car owners’ dashboards and serving Apple Maps (groan) with data. Launching AR is a strategic choice for them, generally, but layering in smart transit would help them compete for the next major mapping interface. 

 Are my thoughts going in the right direction, or am I all over the map?

Carson Sweezy

Nourishing Connection Through Food

6 年

Interesting, The Hustle recently announced that Uber has integrated public transit

  • 该图片无替代文字
Gil Laroya

Senior Principal Engineer-R&D, Inventor, Published Author; priors include Galvanize, Farapulse, Noah, Ventritex, Sensorcath, Aptus, Salient, Spirox, Medina, Airxpanders, Localmed, VNUS, EP Tech; over 12 M&As...

6 年

I like it!? As we say in the startup world - Ship it!

回复
Max Friedman ??

CEO @ Givebutter | Powering $5B+ donations

6 年

I’d use this!

Chris LaFay

DOPE WEBSITES ??? EO Atlanta member who enjoys ????????

6 年

Futuristic Tech Brainpower.

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Dhruva Rajendra的更多文章

  • Lime Scooters and Pikachu

    Lime Scooters and Pikachu

    Lime right now^^ Sup? Lime, the company behind all those scooters and bikes on your front porch, reportedly is…

  • Saving WeWork

    Saving WeWork

    Softbank right now ^^ Sup? Real talk - I’ve been trying to write an article for two weeks about how to keep your child…

    1 条评论
  • 23andJustMe

    23andJustMe

    Sup? How are you? I've missed you. It's been a while since I wrote one of these, so go easy on me.

    1 条评论
  • Name's Bond. James Bond.

    Name's Bond. James Bond.

    Sup? We all have that friend with a slick home theater setup (or for you millennials, your parent’s). While you're…

  • Virtual Staging. In real life.

    Virtual Staging. In real life.

    Sup? Our team has been hunting for a new office. One of the tricky parts about picking an office is figuring out what…

    1 条评论
  • Your Car the Therapist

    Your Car the Therapist

    Sup? It's all but inevitable that self-driving cars will become widely used in the next decade or so (assuming Skynet…

    4 条评论
  • The Cure for CFIUS

    The Cure for CFIUS

    Sup? If you’ve been following the news about our ongoing trade war with China (or you follow @realdonaldtrump on…

  • Babies = ??????

    Babies = ??????

    Sup? Last weekend, my wife and I checked yet another adult milestone off the ole list: baby-proofing our home. The…

  • Facebook should buy this company

    Facebook should buy this company

    Sup? I don't know if I really understood the consequences of what I was saying, because [of] the unintended…

    1 条评论
  • Waze for Disasters

    Waze for Disasters

    Sup? The other day, I caught up with my friend Erich Broksas. He's the Head of Strategy at World Central Kitchen (WCK).

    1 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了