Niantic’s recent acquisition is to create a 3D model of the world – Times of India

Pokemon Go creator Niantic Labs acquired the 3D mobile scanning app Scaniverse on Tuesday. The app was developed by Toolbox AI and it is an iOS app that allows users to easily capture, edit and share 3D content using the smartphone camera.
Niantic Labs is known for making augmented reality games like Pokemon Go, Harry Potter Wizards Unite, among others. Now, the company with its new acquisition is planning to take a step further by making things easier and more accessible. The company says that this will make multi-OS scanning even better for the Niantic Explorer community.
Meanwhile, Keith Ito, founder and CEO of the app has mentioned that the iOS app will still be available to users via App Store and will be free and include all the features that were earlier a part of $17 annual subscription. In addition, Niantic will continue to support the software to bring new features to the app.
Niantic has mentioned that the vision behind the acquisition is to create a dynamic spatial map of the world rendered from 3D scanned locations. The company is expecting to use Scaniver’s ability of 3D location scanning using the standard RGB camera sensors from most smartphones along with new LiDAR scanners in iPhones. “The easier it is to scan, the faster it is to build a 3D map of the world”, Niantic mentions in the official press release.
The company also notes, “Imagine everyone simultaneously experiencing Pokémon habitats in the real world, or digital characters taking us on a walking tour of hidden city gems, or friends leaving personal notes in real-world locations to find later. This is what large-scale mapping can enable, and we’re excited to continue building its future.”