Implementing Flutter Google Map with Live Location Tracking

Are you looking to create a Flutter app with Google Maps integration that includes live location tracking, similar to the functionality found in the Uber app? You're in the right place! In this blog post, we'll guide you through the process step by step, from setting up the project to implementing live location tracking.

Why Use Flutter for Google Map Integration?

Flutter is a powerful cross-platform framework developed by Google. It allows you to build beautiful and high-performance applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. With Flutter, you can create visually appealing interfaces and leverage a rich set of libraries and widgets, making it an excellent choice for integrating Google Maps into your app.

Setting Up the Project

Before we start implementing the Google Map with live location tracking, let's set up our Flutter project. Follow these steps:

1. Open your preferred IDE and create a new Flutter project using the following command:

flutter create my_map_app

2. Navigate to the project directory:

cd my_map_app

Adding the Google Maps Plugin

In order to use Google Maps in your Flutter app, you need to add the google_maps_flutter plugin to your project's dependencies. Here's how:

1. Open the pubspec.yaml file in your project and add the following line:

dependencies:
  google_maps_flutter: ^2.0.6

2. Save the file and run the following command in the terminal to fetch the plugin:

flutter pub get

Implementing Google Map with Live Location Tracking

Now, let's dive into the implementation details. To display a Google Map in your Flutter app, follow these steps:

1. Create a new Dart file and name it "map_screen.dart".
2. In the new file, import the necessary packages:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
  import 'package:google_maps_flutter/google_maps_flutter.dart';

3. Display the Google Map by adding a GoogleMap widget to your screen's body. Provide the initial camera position and enable location tracking using the myLocationEnabled property:

GoogleMap(
    initialCameraPosition: CameraPosition(
      target: LatLng(37.7749, -122.4194), // San Francisco coordinates
      zoom: 12,
    ),
    myLocationEnabled: true,
  )

Question: How can I track the user's live location?

Answer: To track the user's live location, we can use the geolocator package. Follow these steps:

1. Add the geolocator package to your project's dependencies by adding the following line to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  geolocator: ^7.6.2

2. Import the package in your map_screen.dart file:

import 'package:geolocator/geolocator.dart';

3. Inside your map screen class, declare a variable to hold the user's current position:

late Position currentPosition;

4. Add a method to retrieve the user's current location:

void getCurrentLocation() async {
    Position position = await Geolocator.getCurrentPosition(
      desiredAccuracy: LocationAccuracy.high,
    );
    setState(() {
      currentPosition = position;
    });
  }

Conclusion

In this blog post, we've learned how to implement Google Maps with live location tracking in a Flutter app, similar to the Uber app's functionality. Flutter's flexibility and the google_maps_flutter and geolocator packages make it straightforward to create such features. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can enhance your Flutter app with interactive maps and real-time location tracking. Start building your own location-based app today!