Niantic Spatial and Coco Robotics Partner to Advance Autonomous Delivery

Coco Robotics is expanding its autonomous delivery capabilities, leveraging the spatial mapping technology of Niantic Spatial – the company spun out from the creators of Pokémon GO – to navigate complex urban environments. This partnership aims to improve the precision and reliability of last-mile delivery services, moving beyond sidewalk-based robots to utilize streets and bike lanes.

Navigating the Challenges of Urban Delivery

Traditional GPS systems often struggle in dense city environments due to signal drift and obstructions from tall buildings. Niantic Spatial’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) addresses this challenge by utilizing a vast database of images and location markers gathered from millions of users, originally through the popular augmented reality game, Pokémon GO. This allows robots to pinpoint their location with greater accuracy, even in areas where GPS is unreliable. According to Niantic Spatial, its geospatial AI platform is built on more than 30 billion posed images from millions of locations, creating a robust visual base for machine navigation. Technology Review details how this technology is being adapted for robotics.

Coco 2: Expanding Operational Capabilities

Coco Robotics’ novel Coco 2 robot is designed to operate on streets and bike lanes, reaching speeds of up to 13 mph, where legally permissible. TechRepublic reports that the Coco 2 can carry multiple orders simultaneously and adapt quickly to new cities based on real-world operating data. The company has already completed over 500,000 deliveries with a fleet of 1,000 robots across the US and Europe.

The Role of Niantic Spatial’s VPS

The partnership with Niantic Spatial will integrate the VPS into Coco’s delivery fleet, enhancing navigation precision in dynamic urban settings. Niantic Spatial emphasizes that this collaboration highlights the importance of geospatial AI and its Large Geospatial Model as essential infrastructure for robots operating in the real world. The engineering teams from both companies will collaborate to solve key challenges in urban robotics, including maintaining accurate geolocation and safe navigation.

From Pokémon GO to Robotics

Niantic Spatial, originally developed to support Pokémon GO, has found a new application in robotics. Brian McClendon, CTO at Niantic Spatial, noted that while augmented reality glasses were initially envisioned as the primary application, robots have emerged as a key audience for their spatial mapping technology. Technology Review highlights this shift in focus.

Looking Ahead

The success of this partnership will depend on city acceptance of robots operating in more complex environments. Coco Robotics is aiming to transition delivery robots from a novelty to a standard component of urban logistics. The collaboration between Coco Robotics and Niantic Spatial represents a significant step towards realizing the full potential of autonomous delivery services.