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Google Maps

The Google Maps package provides powerful geocoding and distance calculation capabilities for RPA workflows. Use these nodes to convert addresses to coordinates, perform reverse geocoding, and calculate distances between locations.

Key Features​

  • Geocoding: Convert street addresses to geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude)
  • Reverse Geocoding: Convert coordinates back to human-readable addresses
  • Distance Calculations: Calculate straight-line distances between coordinates
  • Route Distance: Get driving distances using Google Directions API

Prerequisites​

To use the Google Maps package, you need:

  1. Google Cloud Platform Account: Sign up at cloud.google.com
  2. Google Maps API Key:
    • Create a project in Google Cloud Console
    • Enable the following APIs:
      • Geocoding API (for address/coordinate conversion)
      • Directions API (for route distance calculations)
    • Generate an API key with appropriate restrictions
  3. Robomotion Credentials: Store your API key in Robomotion's credential vault

Common Use Cases​

  • Address Validation: Verify and standardize addresses in your database
  • Location Intelligence: Enrich customer data with geographic coordinates
  • Route Optimization: Calculate distances to optimize delivery routes
  • Geofencing: Determine if locations fall within specific areas
  • Store Locators: Find nearest store locations based on customer addresses
  • Logistics Automation: Calculate shipping distances and costs
  • Real Estate: Geocode property addresses for mapping applications

Available Nodes​

Best Practices​

API Key Security​

  • Store your API key in Robomotion's credential vault, never hardcode it
  • Use API key restrictions (HTTP referrer, IP address, or API restrictions)
  • Monitor your API usage in Google Cloud Console

Rate Limiting​

  • Google Maps APIs have usage quotas and rate limits
  • Implement error handling for quota exceeded errors
  • Consider caching geocoding results for frequently used addresses

Coordinate Precision​

  • Coordinates are returned with high precision (many decimal places)
  • For most applications, 6 decimal places (~0.1 meter accuracy) is sufficient
  • Round coordinates when storing to save space if appropriate

Address Formatting​

  • Use complete, well-formatted addresses for best results
  • Include city, state/province, and country when possible
  • Google's geocoder is forgiving but specificity improves accuracy

Error Handling​

Common errors you may encounter:

  • Invalid Credentials: API key is missing, invalid, or doesn't have required permissions
  • Quota Exceeded: You've exceeded your daily API quota
  • Invalid Request: Malformed coordinates or addresses
  • Zero Results: No geocoding results found for the provided input
  • Network Errors: Connectivity issues with Google's servers

Use the "Continue On Error" property to handle errors gracefully in your workflows.