Step into the map with the Street View grounding feature in Project Genie from Google DeepMind and Google Labs. Announced at I/O, this research prototype uses locations from Google Maps Street View as a foundation, letting you generate and explore interactive, 360-degree virtual environments from just a text prompt... or real-world starting place. Cool, right? But… How does it actually work? 🤔 As an experimental tool, Project Genie tackles the "blank space" problem (showing both what’s in front of the camera and behind it) by utilizing Street View data to realistically generate a 360-degree view of the location you selected as the starting point for your world to generate from. Worlds generated by Genie are far more dynamic and rich because they’re created frame-by-frame based on the world description and user actions. By predicting each subsequent frame, Genie is able to simulate what it looks like to swim across an ocean, or hike to the top of a peak, marking a massive shift in interactive media and simulation pipelines. What real-world place would you want to step into and explore?show more

@GoogleDeepMind @googlemaps 🌍✨🤩

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps This is a glimpse of where AI is heading. From generating images to generating interactive worlds. Excited to see Google continue pushing the frontier.

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps 😺❤️‍🔥👍

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Another US-Only feature

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Amazing innovation from the team.

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Grounding a world model in actual Street View imagery is a brilliant way to solve the lack of spatial coherence in generative media. It gives the AI a concrete geometric anchor so the environment layout stays consistent as you move through it.

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Real geographic data drastically boosts virtual scene realism and unlocks new commercial opportunities for tourism and game simulation industries.

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Great Share

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps this is genuinely the most interesting thing google has shown in years

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Many people think AI replaces work. In reality, it removes repetitive tasks so you can focus on higher-value work

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps The future is here

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Spot on! Completely agree with this. 👏

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps finally a use for all those random street view angles i've saved over the years

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps does it work with any random street view location or only ones with good coverage

okay this one is genuinely fun to think about. 🧠 you type a real address and google generates a fully explorable 360 degree world from it. the practical uses are interesting. virtual property tours, travel planning, accessibility for people who can't visit places physically. but the question nobody is asking yet is how do you verify what's real vs what the model filled in?

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Using Street View data to generate interactive 360 degree virtual environments from a text prompt is a practical application of generative AI that goes beyond chatbots. The frame by frame prediction makes it feel dynamic

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps so can you walk around in it or is it just a static view

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps so i can now virtually get lost in a neighborhood i've never been to, in full 360. love that for me

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Turning a real street view spot into a full explorable world is genuinely wild tech 🌍

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps *****LEGEND

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps this is fascinating — bridging grounded geospatial data with generative worlds feels like the first real step toward useful spatial AI, not just pretty demos.

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps tried a similar grounding tool last month. trees kept spawning inside buildings. this looks way more stable

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps imagining those street views together makes my heart feel all fluttery 💕

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Really useful framing. AI can speed up the work, but the product judgment still has to come from somewhere.

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps wait so this can generate any street view location in 360?

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps photogrammetry or neural radiance fields?

@GoogleDeepmind @GoogleLabs @GoogleMaps not sure what I watched but okay

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps this is just google street view with extra steps and i'm supposed to be impressed

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps Impressive work! I can’t wait to see how developers use this for education, gaming, and virtual experiences. 🚀

@GoogleDeepMind @GoogleLabs @googlemaps street view 'grounding' sounds more stable than it is. coverage thins fast outside major cities so most of what you're exploring is generated, not captured