Niantic Spatial's environmental scans, collected through Pokémon Go, were used to train a navigation model for military drones by a U.S. defense contractor.

30 billion environmental 'Pokemon Go' scans used to train military drones from a U.S. defense contractor. https://dronexl.co/2026/06/09/pokemon-go-scans-niantic-vantor-military-drone-navigation/

> Hundreds of millions of Pokémon Go players spent years filming the streets, parks, and buildings around them to earn in-game rewards. Those roughly 30 billion environmental scans are now owned by Niantic Spatial, and they helped train a camera-based navigation model that a U.S. defense contractor is preparing to put into drones and other military robots. https://dronexl.co/2026/06/09/pokemon-go-scans-niantic-vantor-military-drone-navigation/