Pokémon Go players' contributions aid tech with possible military drone uses

A decade after the global craze for Pokémon Go peaked, an AI company has been using billions of real-world images captured by millions of players to develop navigation technologies for delivery robots and possibly military drones. That represents an intriguing but potentially discomfiting legacy for an augmented reality mobile game that has incentivized gamers to capture short smartphone videos of physical neighborhoods and landmarks. The AI company, Niantic Spatial, was spun out of Pokémon Go game developer Niantic in May 2025, after Niantic separately sold its licensed games such as Pokémon Go to the Saudi-backed video game publisher Scopely.

Before that deal, Niantic publicly announced plans to use scans from millions of Pokémon Go players along with data captured by users of the company’s Scaniverse app to train and develop a “large geospatial model”—a 3D model of the physical world trained on the geolocated images provided by app users scanning real-world locations. The use of player-captured images was a key component in training Niantic Spatial's real-world foundation models —AI systems that learn to recognize and interpret physical spaces. A Niantic Spatial spokesperson told Ars that “Ground scans were one component to help train Niantic Spatial's real-world foundation models.

The models are the product of that training, not a copy of or a means of accessing the underlying scans, which were of public points of interest such as statues and fountains.” Niantic Spatial's technology has potential applications in various fields, including delivery robots and possibly military drones. Why this matters: The use of Pokémon Go players' images to develop navigation technologies for delivery robots and potentially military drones raises important questions about the broader implications of such technologies. As AI companies continue to leverage publicly available data, including images captured by app users, to develop new technologies, it is essential to consider the potential consequences of these actions.

For developers and businesses, this technology presents opportunities for innovation, but also requires careful consideration of data usage and potential applications. For consumers, it highlights the need for transparency and awareness about how their data is being used. The intersection of augmented reality, AI, and real-world data collection also raises questions about the future of data-driven technologies and their potential impact on society.