Exactly a decade ago in 2016 the world went insane about Pokémon Go. When Pokémon Go was launched, it encouraged players to go outside and explore their surroundings to find virtual characters like Pikachu. Players visited locations such as parks, streets, and landmarks to find items and complete tasks in the game. Interestingly the game still has a lot of nostalgia.
The popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go is back in the news. This time, it is not about catching virtual creatures. As per a report published by NewsForce, images and scans collected via Pokémon Go and a few other AR apps are being used to create a dataset of more than 30 billion real-world images. For example, every time a player was scanning a landmark, they were actually helping in creating a dataset for Niantic, without knowing anything about it in the first place.
The game also allowed users to scan real-world locations like PokéStops and Gyms using their phone cameras. These scans captured images, angles, and location details of the places players visited.
Over time, millions of players scanned many different places around the world. All these scans together created a huge collection of images that map real-world locations in great detail.
Helping delivery robots navigate?
The company behind the game, Niantic, used this large collection of images to build a system called a Visual Positioning System (VPS). This technology can identify a location by analysing buildings, roads, and other visual details.
The system is now being used to help small delivery robots move through cities. Niantic has partnered with Coco Robotics, a company that develops robots designed to deliver food and groceries.
Normal GPS can sometimes be inaccurate in crowded cities because tall buildings can block signals. However, the visual system trained with billions of images helps robots recognise their surroundings and find the correct route more accurately.
Data Privacy concerns
The news has also started conversations about how user data is used. Many players were surprised to learn that the images they captured while playing the game could later be used to train robots.
Some people online joked that gamers had unknowingly helped build a detailed digital map of the world. Others have raised questions about privacy and how companies use data collected from apps.