Google's New 'Visual Position System' Takes Pedestrian Navigation to the Next Level

David Nield shares a preview of Google's new Visual Position System (VPS), which uses a variety of augmented reality to help guide pedestrians around the city:

The perfect scenario for Google’s new Visual Position System, or VPS, is one you’ve probably been in already: Emerging from a subway station in a strange city. You’ve got your route planned out on your phone, but you don’t know which way is which, or the names of the roads—if you set off in the wrong direction initially, you can lose a lot of time retracing your steps.

And:

It’s designed to overcome the limitations of GPS in heavily built-up areas and remove confusion when you’re following walking directions. It’s not publicly available yet, but we’ve been able to try it, and here’s what’s coming.

Like any good navigator, the VPS locates the user by using clues from surrounding landmarks, The result is better directions:

VPS pulls its data from the buildings and landmarks around you rather than relying on satellite location alone. By combining VPS with Street View data and some machine learning, Google Maps can work out where you are (and where you should be headed) even if your GPS lock has you placed three blocks north.

Nield provides more explanation and a few helpful images to better illustrate how the technology works.