Google Maps 6.0 for Android Introduces Indoor Maps and a "My Location" Feature

“ 'Where am I?' and 'What's around me?' are two questions that cartographers, and Google Maps, strive to answer. With Google Maps’ 'My Location' feature, which shows your location as a blue dot, you can see where you are on the map to avoid walking the wrong direction on city streets, or to get your bearings if you’re hiking an unfamiliar trail. Google Maps also displays additional details, such as places, landmarks and geographical features, to give you context about what’s nearby. And now, Google Maps for Android enables you to figure out where you are and see where you might want to go when you’re indoors.

"When you’re inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help. Starting today, with the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you're on, and where to go indoors.

"Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar 'blue dot' icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you’re on. All this is achieved by using an approach similar to that of ‘My Location’ for outdoor spaces, but fine tuned for indoors." (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-frontier-for-google-maps-mapping.html, accessed. 12-1-2011)

Here is a link to a video by Google describing features of Google Maps that was available in August 2020.