Google’s ‘Speak to Go’ lets you travel the globe with your voice

Today, Google showed off a host of VR web applications on its new WebVR Experiments page, one of which lets you explore the world using voice search.

“Speak to Go” is optimized to work with VR headsets on its Daydream and Cardboard platforms buy you can also try it out on your phone or computer without a headset, you just need to enable the mic on Chrome and get to voice exploring.

Tap the space bar and say an address and Google will drop you at that exact location if there’s Street View data available, say a city or country and the web app will place you somewhere random allowing you to discover new vistas.

On desktop the app is just a gimmicky voice search tool for Google Maps, but on a Google Cardboard headset you get a more real sense of exploration as you’re cut off from other forms of input and it’s just you speaking and moving your head to explore.

The app showcases the strengths of WebVR in getting new users into experiences that are seamless and intuitive. WebVR allows users to visit virtual reality experiences in a browser just by visiting a URL.

In November, Google debuted its Earth application on HTC’s Vive platform, this latest update brings some of the views to mobile 360 on Cardboard and Daydream.