Niantic uses 30 billion VR images from Pokémon GO to create maps for robots

Humanity has long since feared the robot rebellion, and it might have just arrived, with Pikachu at the helm. Niantic Spatial has teamed up with Coco Robotics to unleash a fleet of robots that navigate thanks to 30 billion VR images collected from Pokémon GO players. I wonder if we will get a discount on pizza delivery.

Using scans and landmarks from images players took in Pokémon GO, this massive map will help the robots navigate large cities where GPS signals can get lost. The clever little bots will be able to scan their location, compare the storefront and surroundings to this dataset, and deliver their cargo straight to your door.

Niantic is not taking pictures with your phone every second

Now, before everyone gets too outraged, apparently, the only data that Niantic has used for this is from the Pokéstop VR scanning. Or, in other words, the stuff players have been sending to the company.

So, in those terms, it is all fine and legal. 

Not to mention that this is kind of what Niantic Spatial does: they map things. There is that age-old adage: if you aren’t paying for something, then you are the product. Pokémon Go  just also tries to get its players to spend money at the same time, but you get my meaning.

I didn’t read the Ts and Cs, like 99% of you, but I am sure that in there we agreed to that. 

For me, though, it still rubs me the wrong way. For one, back in 2016, Niantic told the US Senate that it did not intend to sell data. Which I guess they haven’t, but this partnership with Coco Robotics definitely tests that line. Sure, it was a decade ago, but the nature behind it is as true today as it was then. 

It is an unsettling thought that an AR image you took, which may have your family members in it, is now going to be accessed on a regular basis. Whilst this might help you get a good delivery, it is quite annoying to know we have inadvertently helped the AI industry train robots. Hopefully, they remember our contribution when the uprising begins,

You can help contribute to Skynet by downloading Pokémon Go from the App Store and Google Play.