A new report reveals that data collected from Pokémon GO players will be used to help robots make precise deliveries.
Pokémon GO is an augmented reality game developed and released by Niantic in 2016, and it was an undeniable success. It brought in millions of players across the globe, all scouring through the streets in the hope of catching ’em all. This process has now enabled the company to collect data that has improved its GPS tech tremendously.
Niantic Spatial Has Been Building a Visual Positioning System from Pokémon GO Players’ Data
According to a report by MIT Technology Review (via GamesRadar+), Niantic Spatial has been utilizing data from Pokémon GO to enhance its visual positioning system for the past few years. The new model has been trained on over a million locations worldwide and can accurately pinpoint a user’s location. The level of precision is exceptionally high; Niantic Spatial CEO John Hanke stated that it could achieve accuracy within several centimeters and can also determine the direction in which a user is looking.
The company’s short-term goal is to use this data to help autonomous robots from Coco Robotics deliver with higher accuracy across Europe and the United States. The new model has been trained on 30 billion images that were captured by Pokémon Go players. The CTO, Brian McClendon, has also spoken about long-term plans, stating, “We’re not there yet, but we want to be there. I’m very focused on trying to re-create the real world.”
In other news, here’s a guide on the Pokémon GO 30th anniversary Pressure Rising Special Research, and all the rewards. Additionally, Pokémon Pokopia sold over 2.2 million copies within the first four days. What are your thoughts on Pokémon GO data being used to help robots make deliveries? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
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