Google Maps and Rock Paper Reality Bring AR for Paris Venues
Google Maps now includes an augmented reality (AR) function, which is a huge step towards improving digital tourism and cultural engagement. This new feature enables visitors from all around the world to experience Paris’ most iconic landmarks in an experiential and immersive manner. The feature, which was developed in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, its AR/VR offering, and Rock Paper Reality (RPR), offers 3D experiences of famous sites like the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides Bridge. These experiences are now improved with historic annotations and navigation changes in real time.
Jenny Sun, a product manager at Google, stated that while the initial focus is on cultural events, the technology’s potential extends much beyond that. She emphasised its applications in entertainment, travel, education, the arts, and retail, describing it as an exciting time to be part of the Google Maps and geospatial AR communities.
The new augmented reality feature, which was first introduced at Google I/O 2024, uses Google Maps’ Immersive View to allow users to see how these locations were in various historical periods. This novel technique combines modern tourism with digital historical preservation, allowing remote users to participate in interactive time travel experiences via Google Maps’ Street View.
The collaborative effort leverages RPR’s expertise in AR content production, integrating historically accurate 3D models created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture and local historians. Users can, for example, digitally explore areas from the 1900 Exposition Universelle, allowing them to see Paris as it was at the time. Patrick Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Rock Paper Reality, underlined the importance of these models in increasing user engagement by offering a visually appealing and educational historical context.
Google’s blog article on Google France emphasised the deployment, demonstrating how the relationship can improve digital tourism. A video case study on YouTube showcases the new feature’s seamless integration with Google Maps, providing a high-fidelity AR experience that mixes geospatial technology with participatory cultural narrative.
To improve the experience for Google Maps’ massive user base of over 1 billion people, RPR made sure that all 16 AR elements remained under 20MB each. This was done to provide seamless integration and fast load times, allowing users to explore Parisian sites both on-site and remotely. This dual-access model ensures accessibility while providing a high-quality experience.
This breakthrough is part of a larger trend in the use of AR technology. By embedding AR content in Google Maps, Google and RPR are offering location-based AR to a wider audience, establishing a precedent for digital tourism outside Paris. The AR-enhanced landmarks could serve as a model for how other historical places across the world can be seen virtually, marking a watershed moment in cultural and educational tourism.
Sun went on to describe how geospatial technology enables individuals to precisely anchor text, information, photos, and sounds in the real environment. This innovation introduces a new approach for users to engage and interact with their environment. Users may now access this enriched content from anywhere in the world, whether on-site with AR or remotely via Google Maps Street View.
