Niantic, the American video game company behind the global phenomenon Pokémon Head, is leveraging data collected through the augmented reality game to aid in the development of delivery robots. The company has partnered with Coco Robotics, a U.S.-based startup specializing in autonomous wheeled robots, to refine the robots’ navigation capabilities.
Pokémon Go, released in 2016 in collaboration with The Pokémon Company, tasked players with exploring the real world to capture virtual Pokémon appearing on their smartphones. The game quickly gained worldwide popularity, with players venturing into parks and other locations in pursuit of creatures like Gyarados. This widespread exploration inadvertently created a vast dataset of environmental information.
According to the MIT, players captured over 30 billion photos of their surroundings while using the app. This data is proving invaluable for Coco Robotics, as the startup aims to create robots capable of navigating complex environments and ultimately replacing human delivery drivers.
The challenge lies in accurately mapping and modeling every obstacle and detail of urban landscapes. Pokémon Go players, in their quest for rare Pokémon, traversed areas often inaccessible to cars and traditional GPS systems – including tunnels, alleyways, pedestrian zones, and parks. This provides Coco Robotics with crucial data for training the robots’ artificial intelligence.
Essentially, players unknowingly contributed to the development of these robots, highlighting a growing trend of individuals providing data that fuels artificial intelligence. The situation raises questions about the often-unseen labor involved in training AI systems, a dynamic similar to the many microtasks people complete to support machine learning algorithms. This partnership underscores the increasing convergence of gaming, data collection, and robotics innovation.
