What you need to know
- Niantic Spatial presents two improved versions of its Scaniverse app and VPS 2.0.
- The former is usable on regular phones, giving users in architecture or design, tools to scan the world around them and reconstruct it digitally, which others can contribute to.
- VPS 2.0 is now able to deliver specific locations without requiring prior scanning; However, if you scan with Scaniverse, users will get “centimeter-accurate” readings.
Giving the AI a “map of the real world,” Niantic says that requires hard data, which is where its latest initiative comes into play.
Niantic Spatial’s entry into geospatial facilitates its latest update, which introduces two products: Scaniverse and VPS 2.0. The Scaniverse is very important to Niantic Spatial, as it says this is the “entry point” to its spatial services. The document states that Scaniverse is a “self-service platform” that enables a variety of services, such as data capture and uploading, spatial asset generation, and more. Scaniverse is said to work on everyday phones to capture, reconstruct, and localize the real world.
With the phone, Niantic says it can create a more accurate map and more faithful matches and splats with Scaniverse. You are not the only participant in the project, as others invited to the shared project can add their scans, which are “combined into one unified model.” Niantic sees this as useful for people in transportation or construction, which is why the Scaniverse app still works in low connection settings.
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In addition, once the scans are uploaded, users can verify their data by previewing the VPS map. While Scaniverse’s operating system remains relatively unchanged—aside from a few improvements—Niantic Spatial says it’s compatible with computers. Uploaded data can be managed, giving users the ability to reconstruct 360-degree camera images over large areas.
Interaction remains unchanged even in web view, alongside the upcoming VPS support for 360-degree videos.
Forget GPS, it’s all about VPS
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Niantic Spatial VPS 2.0 is able to provide users with “virtual virtual space that now works globally” with no prior scanning required. In addition to this, if you have previously scanned the area with Scaniverse, VPS 2.0 can provide “centimeter-accurate 6DoF localization.” The company also touts its VPS software as “resistant to GPS degradation.”
Any available virtual environment, as well as multiple data sources, contribute to the enhanced capabilities of VPS 2.0. Niantic adds that VPS 2.0 can play an important role for companies that use robots, as positioning can be lost when indoors if they use GPS alone. April makes NDSK documentation available to developers who want to update their mobile applications or robotics systems.
You may remember Niantic from when it owned Pokémon Go. Last year, the company abandoned its gaming division and started a new direction: Niantic Spatial, an organization focused on developing geospatial models to integrate AI with the real world. Niantic Spatial started with $250 million in its pocket for its new ambitions. It said that, while there are ideas behind bringing its AI to smaller devices, it has also put its sights on automation.
Android Central Take
This is good. This gives me sci-fi vibes. And it’s nothing new to see a company trying to create a model that allows its AI to “see” the world we live in. Helping it straighten out so it can get better help. As Niantic said, most AI models focus on text and graphics. Mapping the world, and turning that into a reconstructed model that construction crews can use, is huge. Sure, they can run the numbers themselves, find errors, but AI can be there to help make things easier, so they can do important things faster.
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