Google Maps Explained is an awesome walkthrough that breaks down how Google Maps figures out the best route when you ask for directions. The star of the show is Geo, a cute little green guide who walks you through the behind-the-scenes magic that makes Google Maps so smart.
At the heart of Google Directions is some seriously clever tech - powerful pathfinding algorithms. These are techniques used to figure out the best route between two points, taking into account distance, obstacles, or other factors to make navigation as efficient as possible.
Google Maps Explained uses an interactive map (with plenty of fun animated map illustrations) to show how different algorithms work, like Breadth-First Search (BFS), Depth-First Search (DFS), Bidirectional BFS, Greedy search, A*, Bidirectional A*, and A* with a lookup table.
Learning about algorithms might sound intimidating, but this tutorial makes it surprisingly fun. Thanks to Geo’s playful explanations and easy-to-follow visuals, you’ll come away with a clear picture of how Google Maps plans routes - and why certain algorithms are better than others for finding the fastest way from point A to point B.
Via: Webcurios
No comments:
Post a Comment