Pokémon Go Players Unknowingly Trained Delivery Robots

What Happened Niantic announced a partnership with Coco Robotics to power delivery robots using data collected from Pokémon Go players over the past eight years. The company’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) relies on more than 30 billion images captured by players who were encouraged to scan real-world statues, landmarks, and buildings in exchange for in-game rewards. The data collection effort received a significant boost in 2020 when Niantic added “Field Research” features that prompted players to scan physical locations with their cameras.