Pokémon Go has made you walk the streets to capture virtual creatures, but your passion hid a real mission! Discover how your billions of photos are now used to guide future delivery robots in our cities.
You thought you were just hunting rare Pokémon on your smartphone for fun? Think again! Behind this “free” entertainment lies a monumental data collection. The game’s publisher, Niantic, has just revealed a major partnership with the company Coco Robotics. Approximately 30 billion photos and location data have been shared. Why these images?
Simply to allow autonomous robots to navigate urban chaos. A GPS is too imprecise for these machines to anticipate their routes. They need to “see” the places through your photos to avoid obstacles and navigate. By looking for your favorite specimens, you have visually mapped the world for them.
That’s where the trick lies: transforming millions of players into skilled topographers! If the game succeeded in getting a generation moving, it mainly served as a tool. Niantic has managed to turn your enthusiasm into an extremely lucrative database. In other words, you have unknowingly done the fieldwork, and others are reaping the benefits.
So, the next time a robot delivers a package, you will probably have a silent thought. Yes, because it is thanks to your “hunter” efforts that these machines make money. Your passion has been monetized, proving that nothing is ever completely free online.
