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Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY
- Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, uses player data to create a 3D map of the physical world.
- The model uses geolocation information from scans players submit of real-world locations while playing Pokémon Go.
- Privacy experts advise users to be mindful of the data they share and avoid scanning private locations.
Pokémon Go players may not have realized it, but they have trained more than their Pokémon.
Niantic, the developer behind the popular mobile game Pokémon Go, announced last week that it is building an AI model to map the physical world. This “large geospatial model” would use player data to “achieve spatial intelligence,” the company said in a blog post.
First released in 2016, Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game where players use their mobile phones to find and catch virtual Pokémon in the real world. The game, which has had more than 600 million downloads since release, also allows players to collect items at PokéStops and compete in gyms, both of which are located in real-world landmarks.
Niantic’s model trains and processes data using geolocation information from scans players submit of those real-world locations while playing Pokémon Go and other Niantic games.
“For the past five years, Niantic has focused on building our Visual Positioning System (VPS), which uses a single image of a phone to determine its position and orientation using a 3D map made up of people who find interesting scan locations in our games and Scaniverse. the company said in the announcement.
The company said it currently has 10 million scanned locations from around the world for use with its VPS, with approximately 1 million new scans per week.
The model processes these geolocation images and creates a 3D map, while also populating information about geographic locations, “implementing a shared understanding of geographic locations and understanding places that have yet to be fully scanned,” according to the blog post.
Companies looking for more ways to use customer data will become the “new normal,” Anton Dahbura, executive director of the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins University, told USA TODAY.
Niantic said the data is unique because it is taken from a “pedestrian perspective,” unlike other mapping systems that rely on images captured by vehicles and may not include places inaccessible to cars.
According to Niantic’s privacy policy, the company collects location data and other personal data, such as name and email address. The privacy policy outlines what is and is not shared with third-party vendors, but not what the company does with the data. Niantic has a separate privacy policy for children who play the developer’s games, and a portal where parents can set up and manage their child’s profile.
“It’s a typical data privacy issue and the current state of technology,” Dahbura said. “In fact, it’s almost normal for companies to look for ways to use their data, and even investors expect it.”
Understandably, users are concerned about how their collected personal data is stored or shared.
“Even with the best intentions, having large amounts of data that contain so much personal information can be dangerous,” he said. “It could fall into the wrong hands, there could be a major data breach, etc.”
For users concerned about their privacy, Dahbura advises players to think carefully about their usage.
“Use it only in very public places, not in places you consider private, such as the interior of your home,” he said.
Users should also minimize having other people in view, “especially your loved ones,” he said.
Players should also be aware of the location and how it is intertwined with so much personal data.
“A lot of people really underestimate the importance of location data,” says Dahbura. “Our critical infrastructure is much broader than people realize, including transportation systems, pharmaceutical, financial, food production and so on. If people with bad intentions find out that you have access to these types of facilities, it could be used not only against you but also against national security.”