Navigation-integrated scenic location value and route planning

1 . A method for providing navigation directions in response to a request for viewing a particular type of geographical feature on a route to a destination, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, a request for navigation directions from a starting location to a destination, the request specifying a particular type of geographical feature for viewing on a route to the destination;

identifying, by the one or more processors, at least one candidate route of a set of candidate routes for navigating from the starting location to the destination location that includes a road segment from which the particular type of geographical feature can be viewed;

assigning, by the one or more processors, a categorical score to each road segment in the set of candidate routes for the particular type of geographical feature, wherein the categorical score is based at least in part on a diversity metric indicative of diversity of the particular type of the geographical feature along the road segment and a visibility metric indicative of visibility of the particular type of the geographical feature from the road segment, wherein the visibility metric is generated by analyzing imagery from several photographs of street level viewpoints captured by one or more cameras stitched together to generate a three-dimensional rendering of real-world objects located within a geographical area on the route to the destination;

selecting, by the one or more processors, a route from the set of candidate routes based at least in part on the assigned categorical scores for each road segment; and

providing, by the one or more processors, a set of navigation directions for presentation on a client device for navigating from the starting location to the destination location via the selected route.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the categorical score for each road segment is determined for a landmark visible from the road segment having the particular type of geographical feature based on at least one of:

a distance metric indicative of a distance from the road segment to the landmark,

a size metric indicative of a size of the landmark,

a count metric indicative of a number of geographical features having the particular type of geographical feature at the landmark, or

a popularity metric indicative of popularity of the landmark.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the categorical score for each road segment is further based on weather conditions, a time of day, or time of year.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the size metric is based on an elevation, surface area, height, width, length, or volume of the landmark.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the diversity metric is based on a variation in sizes, shapes, types, or subtypes of the geographical features at the landmark.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

assigning, by the one or more processors, a duration score to each road segment based on an estimated amount of time for traversing the road segment;

determining, by the one or more processors, an overall score for each road segment based on the duration score and the categorical score for the road segment; and

selecting, by the one or more processors, the route using the overall scores for each road segment.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting the route includes selecting, by the one or more processors, the route from the set of candidate routes that does not exceed a shortest duration or distance of the set of candidate routes by more than a threshold duration or distance.

8 . A computing device for providing navigation directions in response to a request for viewing a particular type of geographical feature on a route to a destination, the computing device comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:

receive a request for navigation directions from a starting location to a destination, the request specifying a particular type of geographical feature for viewing on a route to the destination;

identify at least one candidate route of a set of candidate routes for navigating from the starting location to the destination location that includes a road segment from which the particular type of geographical feature can be viewed;

assign a categorical score to each road segment in the set of candidate routes for the particular type of geographical feature, wherein the categorical score is based at least in part on a diversity metric indicative of diversity of the particular type of the geographical feature along the road segment and a visibility metric indicative of visibility of the particular type of the geographical feature from the road segment, wherein the visibility metric is generated by analyzing imagery from several photographs of street level viewpoints captured by one or more cameras stitched together to generate a three-dimensional rendering of real-world objects located within a geographical area on the route to the destination;

select a route from the set of candidate routes based at least in part on the assigned categorical scores for each road segment; and

provide a set of navigation directions for presentation on a client device for navigating from the starting location to the destination location via the selected route.

9 . The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the categorical score for each road segment is determined for a landmark visible from the road segment having the particular type of geographical feature based on at least one of:

a distance metric indicative of a distance from the road segment to the landmark,

a size metric indicative of a size of the landmark,

a count metric indicative of a number of geographical features having the particular type of geographical feature at the landmark, or

a popularity metric indicative of popularity of the landmark.

10 . The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the categorical score for each road segment is further based on weather conditions, a time of day, or time of year.

11 . The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the size metric is based on an elevation, surface area, height, width, length, or volume of the landmark.

12 . The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the diversity metric is based on a variation in sizes, shapes, types, or subtypes of the geographical features at the landmark.

13 . A method for providing a map display in response to a request for viewing a particular type of geographical feature, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, a request for a particular type of point of interest (POI) in a geographic area for viewing a particular type of geographical feature from the POI, wherein the particular type of POI is different from the particular type of geographical feature;

identifying, by the one or more processors, a set of candidate POIs in the geographic area;

assigning, by the one or more processors, a categorical score to each POI in the set of candidate POIs for the particular type of geographical feature, wherein the categorical score is based at least in part on a diversity metric indicative of diversity of the particular type of the geographical feature at the POI and a visibility metric indicative of visibility of the landmark from the POI wherein the visibility metric is generated by analyzing imagery from several photographs of street level viewpoints captured by one or more cameras stitched together to generate a three-dimensional rendering of real-world objects located within a geographical area on the route to the destination

selecting, by the one or more processors, a POI from the set of candidate POIs using, for each POI in the set, the assigned categorical score and one or more of:

a distance metric indicative of a distance from the POI to a nearest landmark which can be viewed from the POI having the particular type of geographical feature,

a visibility metric indicative of visibility of the landmark from the POI,

a size metric indicative of a size of the landmark,

a count metric indicative of a number of geographical features having the particular type of geographical feature at the landmark, or

a popularity metric indicative of popularity of the landmark; and

providing, by the one or more processors, an indication of the selected POI for presentation within a map display on a client device.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the categorical score for each POI is further based on weather conditions, a time of day, or time of year.

15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the size metric is based on an elevation, surface area, height, width, length, or volume of the landmark.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the diversity metric is based on a variation in sizes, shapes, types, or subtypes of the geographical features at the landmark.

17 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

ranking, by the one or more processors, the set of candidate POIs based on the categorical score for each POI; and

providing, by the one or more processors, the set of candidate POIs in a ranked order for presentation within the map display on the client device.