Snap Inc., you know, the folks who created Snapchat and those funky Spectacles glasses, are shaking hands with Niantic Spatial. Why? To bring some crazy geospatial magic to their platforms. Sounds fancy, right? It’s like Snap’s stuff gets this GPS-on-steroids makeover, and Niantic gets heaps of user data to boost their Visual Positioning System. A win-win, if you ask me.
So, here’s the deal: AR gadgets nowadays are pretty smart. They can figure out where they are just by checking out the room. Like, “Hey, I see a couch, I must be in the living room.” But when you want two devices to have a little party in the same virtual space? That’s a whole new game. They need to be on the same map, literally seeing the same things at the same time. Wild, right?
Niantic’s been sweating over this Visual Positioning System for ages. They dream about AR devices sharing a global spatial map for real-world precision. GPS? Nah, too sloppy. They need that pinpoint stuff—devices being buddies in the same shared space, syncing up content for some multiplayer fun.
And now, they’re shaking hands with Snap. These two dropped a concept video showing off some jaw-dropping city-scale AR actions. Imagine anchoring AR moments to real-life spots with freakishly accurate precision. Like, a virtual concert appearing out of nowhere in a busy square. Or a secret portal that only opens when you find that one special bench in the park. Who thinks of this stuff?
Anyway, Snap is throwing some cash into Niantic’s piggy bank too. It’s a “strategic multi-year partnership” they say. Sounds like corporate speak, but I guess it means serious business.
The big picture? Snap gets a killer positioning system, and Niantic’s rolling in user data to make their VPS even cooler. They’re big on these user-generated scans, ya know? It’s like they want to map the whole world with our help.
Snapchat and those Spectacles might ask users to share scans to unlock certain features. You get a cool AR lens, and Niantic gets fresh map data. Pretty slick, huh?
Niantic’s done this rodeo before. Their games like Ingress and Pokémon Go got them hooked on this spatial data stuff. They’ve ditched gaming to focus even harder on their VPS and, what’s now officially called, Niantic Spatial.
Snapchat’s got 900 million users—yeah, you read that right. That’s one massive head start for building a giant AR map with Niantic. Honestly, this whole thing is like the start of an epic AR adventure. Buckle up!
