Until then, keep those eyes on the (virtual) road.
In a game like Forza Horizon or Gran Turismo , hitting a lamppost requires a physics engine. In Google Maps, there is no "mass." The map is a visual shell. To simulate driving, Google would have to add invisible collision meshes to every tree, curb, and building on Earth. That is trillions of polygons. 3d driving simulator in google maps new
Using Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) and AI, Google stitches together billions of Street View stills and aerial shots to create a 4D model of the world. You don’t just see a map; you float through a photorealistic, time-of-day aware digital twin of the city. Until then, keep those eyes on the (virtual) road
And Google knows that once they hand you that virtual steering wheel, you will never just "look" at a map again. You will drive it. To simulate driving, Google would have to add
On mobile, you can use Live View (which uses ARCore). Point your camera at a building, and Google overlays arrows on the real world. While walking, this feels like a video game HUD. For drivers, it’s distracting—but for a simulator, it proves that Google can track your relative speed and position in 3D space. Part 3: The "New" Tech That Changes Everything (Project Oasis & Waze) The keyword you searched includes the word "new." So, what is actually new? 1. Project Oasis (AI-Generated 3D Blocks) In late 2023 and 2024, Google DeepMind began experimenting with generating 3D blocks of cities from satellite imagery. Instead of just flat roofs, the AI now understands volume . A gas station has a canopy; a mall has loading docks. This level of geometric fidelity is necessary for a realistic driving simulator to avoid "clipping" through buildings. 2. The Waze Crossover Google owns Waze. Recently, Waze introduced a very game-like social driving experience (avatars, moods, road candy). More importantly, Waze’s driver-reported data (police, potholes, objects on road) is being fed into Google Maps’ backend. A true simulator would need to train on these "obstacle events." The "new" innovation is the merging of Waze’s dynamic hazards with Google’s static 3D geometry. 3. Tesla & Android Automotive Integration This is the dark horse. Many new cars (Volvo, Polestar, GM) run Android Automotive OS with Google Maps built into the dashboard. Some developers have jailbroken these systems to run custom Unity applications on top of the Google Maps feed. Unofficially, you can already run a driving simulator using Google Maps as the texture. The "new" part is that car manufacturers are lobbying Google to make this an official "Parked Mode" feature—so you can practice a route while your electric vehicle is charging. Part 4: The Technical Barrier – Why It’s Harder Than a Video Game Why hasn’t Google just added a steering wheel icon? Because a real 3D driving simulator requires three things that Google Maps currently lacks: