It’s finally time for Google I/O today, which means we’re getting lots of news about what’s coming soon from the Mountain View giant. Last year, Immersive View for Google Maps was one of the coolest announcements to come out of I/O. Today we're learning about the next generation, Immersive View for routes.

The feature builds on Immersive View and is meant to work as a way for Google Maps users to get a better feel for a city before they arrive at a tricky intersection, whether behind the wheel, handlebars, or on foot.

Maps will tap into information like where the bike lanes and public parking opportunities are, as well as data about complex intersections and traffic simulations, to give you an idea of how traffic typically looks in the area at the time of day you’re traveling using historical data. You’ll get all that info through a multidimensional experience that, as the name might suggest, is rather immersive.

Even better, the feature also tells you what the weather is expected to be like when you plan to travel and offers a time slider where you can see how the weather might change throughout the day.

As complex as this sounds, we're not surprised to learn that it’s unfortunately not going to be available everywhere straight away. Google announced plans to roll Immersive View for routes out to 15 cities around the world by the end of the year: Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle Tokyo, and Venice.

That experience won’t be limited to just Google Maps. Google also announced a new API during I/O today that will allow developers to add a birds-eye video of a particular area to their app or website. One of Google’s first partners for the program is Rent.com, which plans to use the API to allow renters to explore a property and its surrounding area from their desktop.