We’ve known for a while that the real reason Niantic has had Pokemon Go players snapping photos of the real world all over the globe was so it could be mapped, and not so that it could fill its AR version with more gyms and PokeStops. Now we know that at least one of the reasons for this mapping on a global scale was so that Go players’ photos could be used to help autonomous robots navigate the world.
Pokemon Go’s 30 Billion Photos Have Mapped The World For Robots
A report from MIT Technology Review has detailed the relationship between Niantic and Coco Robotics, the company responsible for the fleet of autonomous delivery robots that now know exactly where they’re going thanks to Pokemon Go. I mean exactly, too, as the Go mapping is apparently preferential to regular old GPS, as due to players having taken more than 30 billion photos during Pokemon Go’s first ten years, the robots can get to where they need to be with incredible accuracy.
According to MIT, the bright pink ‘bots are typically never more than a few centimeters away from where they need to be, and it’s all thanks to you. Well, only if you played Pokemon Go at any point in the last decade and let’s be honest, we all did at some point, even if it was only for those first few glorious months.
Playing Pokemon Go In A Country Where It’s Banned
You can’t play Pokemon Go in China, but I needed a digital souvenir.
That’s not entirely accurate. Not every single person who has ever played Pokemon Go has contributed to Niantic’s map of the world. Only those who have been taking photos in the game, of which there are undoubtedly millions. Niantic tied photo taking to field research, allowing players to unlock items, resources, and even encounters with wild Pokemon in exchange for completing that research.
Pokemon Go Players Actually Seem Pretty Okay With Delivery Robots Using Their Data
Since the data collection part was already known and seemingly most players moved past it, otherwise they wouldn’t have kept on playing, the reveal that the data is being used to help robots deliver food and packages has actually been received surprisingly well. Players are making jokes about Pokemon training little creatures to navigate the real world and, for the most part, seem to be pretty okay with the way their Pokemon Go-harvested data is being put to good use.
Perhaps there’s an element of relief attached to all of this. That when Pokemon Go players first got wind of the potentially grim reality behind why Niantic wanted them mapping out its AR world, the real-world reasons for doing so were far more sinister. Helping little pink robots find their way around doesn’t sound so bad, all things considered. Although there’s no guarantee this is the only thing those 30 billion photos will be used for.
- Released
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July 6, 2016
- ESRB
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e
- Engine
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Unity
