Stepping into the Future: Niantic's Geospatial Revolution
Niantic Embraces Geospatial Technology, Transitioning Game Development to Artificial Intelligence Intelligence
Niantic, the brains behind the hit mobile game Pokémon GO, is shaking things up once more. Say goodbye to the gaming world and welcome to the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
With the recent sale of its games division to Scopely, Niantic has a war chest of around $250 million to fund its new venture - Niantic Spatial. This transformation takes the company into uncharted territory, with a focus on creating a cutting-edge geospatial model that blurs the lines between our physical and digital worlds.
In a bold move, Niantic Spatial aims to revolutionize the way AI machines see, understand, and engage with our world. By merging the digital and real, AI systems will gain new insights, fostering smarter interactions between humans and machines.
Beyond Gaming Horizons
Niantic Spatial's geospatial model is built on over 30 billion posed images sourced from millions of locations worldwide[1]. This immense database facilitates spatial reasoning in large language models (LLMs), enabling them to comprehend the location and spatial relationship of objects with a depth of understanding similar to our own.
The ultimate goal is to equip AI systems with a keen awareness of their surroundings, expanding beyond text, code, and images to include real-world navigation[1]. This groundbreaking initiative promises to break new ground in various fields, including robotics, autonomous systems, and augmented reality (AR).
AI in Your Pocket (and Sunglasses)
In the future, Niantic envisions its AI models housed in wearable devices like AR glasses. But that's not all; the company also has its sights set on autonomous systems. The development of the Niantic Spatial Platform is central to these ambitions, encompassing the Visual Positioning System, Gaussian Splatting for 3D scanning and visualization, and developer software development kits (SDKs).
Niantic is currently working on proof-of-concept deployments across diverse real-world environments.
Mastering the Physical World
Niantic's interest in AI isn't a recent development. John Hanke, Niantic's CEO, publicly endorsed smart glasses from Brilliant Labs last year. These glasses were not only lightweight but also compatible with custom prescription lenses. The Brilliant Labs project also showcased a multimodal AI software for the device’s front-facing spatial camera[2].
Niantic's AI, Noa, uses advanced algorithms to interpret data from the environment, delivering useful and timely information to users. With machine learning, Noa can even anticipate your needs, offering assistance without being explicitly asked.
Deep Dive: Niantic Spatial
Niantic Spatial is subsidiary of Niantic, Inc., a leading American tech company focusing on augmented reality (AR) and geospatial technologies. By fusing geospatial data with AI, Niantic Spatial is revolutionizing how AI perceives and interacts with the physical world[1].
Geospatial Modeling:
- Detailed Real-World Models: Niantic Spatial constructs sophisticated models that capture spatial relationships and contexts, allowing AI systems to comprehend the "where" and "how" of objects in space[1][3].
- Millimeter-Level Precision: By combining real-world location data, 3D modeling, and immersive interfaces, Niantic enhances simulations and digital twins, offering millimeter-level precision for location tracking and spatial relationships both indoors and outdoors[1].
- Augmented Interaction: Niantic utilizes AR to enable natural interaction with 3D environments, fostering a more nuanced understanding of human-machine interactions in physical spaces[1].
Niantic's vision transcends traditional AI capabilities, forging a partnership between "book smarts" and "street smarts", arming AI with both textbook knowledge and real-world acumen[3].
[1] Niantic Spatial: https://nianticspatial.com/[2] Brilliant Labs: https://brilliant.com/[3] Niantic Spatial and the Future of AI: https://ntc.ai/niantic-spatial/
- Niantic Spatial, a subsidiary of Niantic, is leveraging AI to create a geospatial model that enables large language models to understand the location and spatial relationship of objects in the real world, with the ultimate goal of equipping AI systems with a keen awareness of their surroundings.
- Moving beyond gaming, Niantic Spatial aims to revolutionize various fields, including robotics, autonomous systems, and augmented reality, by merging AI with geospatial technologies, fostering smarter human-machine interactions in physical spaces.
