"It turns out that getting Pikachu to realistically run around and getting Coco’s robot to safely and accurately move through the world is actually the same problem."
Pokémon GO players have been training more than Pokémon in the past few years, according to MIT Technology Review. According to the report, Niantic Spatial has been using the data collected from Pokémon Go and Ingress players to build a visual positioning system (VPS).
Pokémon GO trains delivery robots
According to MIT Technology Review, Niantic Spatial has trained its model using 30 billion images captured in urban environments. The company sourced many of these images from Pokémon GO players visiting important locations such as battle arenas. These locations have been acting as data hot spots where players capture images through gameplay. Niantic Spatial has also collected images from the same locations at different angles, times of day, and weather conditions.
“The upshot is that for each of those million locations, Niantic Spatial has many thousands of images taken in more or less the same place but from different angles, at different times of day, and in different weather conditions,” MIT Technology Review added. “Each of those images comes with detailed metadata that pinpoints where in space the phone was at the time it captured the image, including which way the phone was facing, which way up it was, whether or not it was moving, how fast and in which direction, and more.”
The post has drawn a mix of reactions from the Pokémon GO community. Some players expressed concern about privacy and the extent of data collection while others noted unease about how images and footage from the game could be used. Some folks stated that they aren’t surprised at all.
Pokémon GO x Niantic Spatial
On March 10, Niantic Spatial announced its partnership with Coco Robotics, which is a company that deploys delivery robots. The two companies will work together to develop AI tools that help robots understand where they are while navigating to pick-up zones even when GPS signals are weak or unavailable.
“The promise of last-mile robotics is immense, but the reality of navigating chaotic city streets is one of the hardest engineering challenges,” John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic Spatial, stated in the official announcement. “We are thrilled to be working with Coco Robotics as our first robotics partner and deploying spatial intelligence to help solve these challenges head-on.”
That’s all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Pokémon GO news and updates.