Pokémon Go data trained AI that could assist military drones in war zones
Summary
An AI model trained with location data from the mobile game Pokémon Go could help military drones navigate without GPS in war zones. Niantic, the game’s creator, partnered with drone software company Vantor to develop technology for drones to work in places where satellite signals are weak or damaged.Key Facts
- Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that uses players’ phone cameras to find virtual creatures in the real world.
- Niantic collected location scan data from players who voluntarily opted in to a feature called Pokéstops.
- This data helped train AI models to recognize and understand real-world spaces.
- Niantic partnered with Vantor, a company that makes software for drones used by militaries.
- The partnership aims to help drones navigate when GPS signals are unavailable or disrupted.
- Neither Niantic nor Vantor shared the actual Pokémon Go scan data with each other; the data helped train Niantic’s AI models only.
- Experts expressed concern about using data collected from ordinary people’s gaming activity for military purposes.
- Niantic sold its video game division in 2025 for $3.5 billion to Scopely, a Saudi Arabian-owned company.
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