Pokémon Go Players Helped Map the World—Now That Data Is Training Delivery Robots
Millions of Pokémon Go players collected scans of real-world landmarks while playing, creating a vast visual dataset that now powers advanced mapping for delivery robots. Niantic Spatial, spun off from Niantic Inc. in May 2025, built its Visual Positioning System (VPS) using these player-generated scans. VPS enables robots to navigate using visual cues from the environment, offering greater reliability in urban areas where GPS may fail due to signal obstructions. In February, Niantic Spatial partnered with Coco Robotics, whose autonomous delivery robots operate in cities like Los Angeles and Miami, to provide enhanced spatial navigation. While scanning in Pokémon Go was voluntary and anonymized, some critics argue players were unaware their gameplay would serve commercial mapping purposes. Niantic maintains all scans were optional and not linked to player identities. Increasingly, robotics companies are using such vision-based systems to address the limitations of GPS and improve autonomous navigation.
