21 votes

Pokémon Go players built a thirty-billion-photo map for AI

Posted by thearctic
Tags: artificial intelligence, niantic, pokemon.go, gaming, photos, maps, author.catherina gioino, source.fortune, paywall
https://fortune.com/2026/03/19/pokemon-go-30-billion-photos-map-coco-robots/

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Title
Pokémon Go players built a 30-billion-photo map that's now training robots to deliver your pizza | Fortune
Authors
Catherina Gioino
Word count
940 words

8 comments

  1. [7]
    thearctic
    Link

    Over the past decade, Pokémon Go players voluntarily submitted photos and short videos of public landmarks, street corners, storefronts, and urban intersections—all coming together to create a dataset that now stands at 30 billion images captured at ground level, across nearly every major city on the planet. Niantic Spatial, the enterprise AI and mapping division spun from Niantic Inc., has spent years converting that trove into something the robotics industry has never seen before: a photorealistic, street-level, continuously updated model of the physical world, built specifically for robots.

    That model is now being deployed to navigate Coco Robotics’ roughly 1,000 delivery bot fleet operating in cities across the country and around the world

    18 votes
    1. [6]
      Nivlak
      Link Parent
      I had always assumed that data was the real gold mine of that game. I’m sure they made bank off MTs also but in my opinion they made that game primarily to collect that tracking data.

      I had always assumed that data was the real gold mine of that game. I’m sure they made bank off MTs also but in my opinion they made that game primarily to collect that tracking data.

      21 votes
      1. [5]
        DrStone
        Link Parent
        That has been Niantic's core business - dressing up real world data collection as a game - since they began as an internal startup at Google in 2010 and released Ingress in 2012.

        That has been Niantic's core business - dressing up real world data collection as a game - since they began as an internal startup at Google in 2010 and released Ingress in 2012.

        23 votes
        1. [4]
          MiddleBear
          Link Parent
          Makes sense now why the game is so boring but always has pictures. Also I highly doubt the “voluntarily” submitting part.

          Makes sense now why the game is so boring but always has pictures. Also I highly doubt the “voluntarily” submitting part.

          4 votes
          1. [3]
            Diff
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            It is voluntary. Players are asked to capture landmarks from various angles until fully scanned. It's a separate "mode" from regular gameplay and has to be explicitly entered and the upload of the...

            It is voluntary. Players are asked to capture landmarks from various angles until fully scanned. It's a separate "mode" from regular gameplay and has to be explicitly entered and the upload of the captured data has to be approved because it's pretty hefty for mobile data.

            https://pokemongohub.net/post/guide/pokestop-scanning-a-step-by-step-guide/
            https://pokemongo.com/en/post/power-up-pokestop-announcement

            11 votes
            1. MimicSquid
              Link Parent
              It's voluntary, but highly incentivized, as the more locations close to you the more power there is for you to garner in game. It works well for everyone, though the player pay to play and also...

              It's voluntary, but highly incentivized, as the more locations close to you the more power there is for you to garner in game. It works well for everyone, though the player pay to play and also provide free labor. Not quite equitable.

              6 votes
            2. MiddleBear
              Link Parent
              Oh you’re right, I remember doing this same exact thing in the game. Sorry everyone for helping the robot uprising, maybe they’ll spare me

              Oh you’re right, I remember doing this same exact thing in the game. Sorry everyone for helping the robot uprising, maybe they’ll spare me

              3 votes
  2. slade
    Link
    It sounds like they didn't do it for AI. They did it for harmless fun. It was then used to feed AI.

    It sounds like they didn't do it for AI. They did it for harmless fun. It was then used to feed AI.

    3 votes