Pokémon Go creator wants your drone photos to train AI - DroneDJ

The company behind Pokémon Go is making a major bet on drones and artificial intelligence. Niantic Spatial, the spinoff from the creator of the global mobile gaming phenomenon Pokémon Go, has partnered with Spexi, which bills itself as the world’s largest decentralized drone imagery network, to build detailed 3D maps of the real world that could help train the next generation of AI systems and robots.

The two companies have announced a strategic partnership that aims to transform drone imagery into highly detailed 3D intelligence that can help power what many in the tech industry call “physical AI” — AI systems designed to understand and interact with real-world environments.

In simple terms, the deal combines Spexi’s massive network of drone pilots with Niantic Spatial’s advanced 3D reconstruction technology. The result is a system that can turn ordinary drone photos into accurate, measurable, city-scale digital models.

Why does that matter? Because the next generation of AI, robotics, and autonomous systems will need more than text and images. They’ll need an understanding of the physical world.

Under the partnership, customers will be able to commission drone flights through Spexi and receive highly detailed 3D reconstructions generated through Niantic Spatial’s Reconstruction API. These models can be viewed, measured, and placed on maps using Spexi’s platform.

The companies say the technology can create geometrically accurate representations of buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and entire neighborhoods. Instead of viewing a flat aerial photo, users can interact with a detailed 3D model of a location.

Niantic Spatial CEO Inhi Cho Suh says physical AI requires a foundation grounded in reality, adding that the partnership pushes 3D reconstruction beyond individual buildings and toward city-scale environments.

That scale is where Spexi brings a significant advantage. The company says it has attracted more than 10,000 drone pilots and has mapped over six million acres. Its imagery is captured at a resolution of 2.8 centimeters, which the company says is roughly ten times sharper than typical satellite imagery.

The partnership goes beyond customer service. Spexi has also been selected as a preferred drone imagery provider for training Niantic Spatial’s real-world AI models. Those models are designed to help AI systems, robots, and other autonomous technologies better understand physical spaces.

Potential applications stretch across multiple industries, including infrastructure inspection, insurance risk assessment, energy operations, asset management, disaster response, and urban planning.

For the drone industry, the announcement highlights a growing trend: drones are increasingly serving as data-collection platforms feeding AI systems that could shape future transportation networks, industrial operations, robotics, and smart cities.

The partnership’s ultimate goal is ambitious: creating digital representations of the real world detailed enough for AI to navigate, analyze, and learn from. And if these companies succeed, the drone flying over a city today may be helping train the intelligent machines of tomorrow.

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