What you’ll want to know
- Niantic Spatial, a brand new firm from the individuals who introduced Pokémon GO to cell, have began down a brand new path.
- After promoting its video games division, Niantic Spatial has moved onto a path that entails creating a big geospatial mannequin to merge the digital and bodily worlds.
- Niantic Spatial sees this expertise bettering the way in which AI machines see and perceive our world, by fusing the 2 for higher help.
Niantic is reportedly shifting away from the gaming scene and into the world of synthetic intelligence.
In a press launch, the corporate introduced its new course, often known as Niantic Spatial. This identify would possibly sound acquainted, particularly when you’re a Pokémon GO fan. Niantic reiterates its current sale of its video games division to Scopely. In brief, the corporate is beginning with roughly $250 million in its again pocket. As such, Niantic Spatial is popping onto a special highway, one that may lead it towards a “massive geospatial mannequin.”
Niantic Spatial states it’ll search to bridge the hole between the “bodily and digital worlds” by way of this geospatial fusion.
If all goes effectively, Niantic states its new mannequin will facilitate higher understanding and interactions between folks and machines to “enhance how we reside and work.” This huge geospatial mannequin has reportedly been developed utilizing “over 30 billion posed pictures from hundreds of thousands of places all over the world.” Niantic states this could help LLMs (massive language fashions) with spatial reasoning.
Basically, these fashions (in concept) will be capable of see/perceive the place one thing is within the bodily world, and its real-world utility to the area round it.
Niantic says that the problem with immediately’s AI is that it is restricted to understanding “textual content, code, and pictures” solely. Its geospatial mannequin goals to interrupt that open by creating a brand new “map” that allows these machines to grasp our world the way in which we do.
A Spatial Future
Niantic hopes to position its AI fashions in smaller gadgets like AR glasses; nonetheless, it additionally has set its sights on autonomous techniques. The put up additionally highlights the Niantic Spatial Platform, which consists of the Visible Positioning System, Gaussian Splatting (3D scanning/visualization), and developer SDKs. Niantic says it’s engaged on deploying proof-of-concepts throughout varied real-world areas.
Niantic’s curiosity in AI is not something new, as its CEO, John Hanke, publicly backed a pair of good glasses from Sensible Labs final 12 months. Not solely had been these glasses mild, however they might be outfitted with customized prescription lenses, too. Moreover, Sensible Labs featured multimodal AI software program for the system’s front-facing spatial digital camera.
The corporate’s AI, Noa, can hear and see the world round you. It makes use of this knowledge to ship actionable and helpful data to the person, and at occasions, it does this with out you asking.
