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Army Gets $217 M AI Drone Navigation from Pokémon Go Scans

6/15/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Army will receive AI navigation technology for drones built from Pokémon Go scans supplied by Niantic Spatial and Vantor.
Vantor secured a February contract worth up to $217 million to train Army missions using immersive 3D terrains.
The AI models were trained on roughly 30 billion player-submitted AR scans collected through Pokémon Go.
Critics argue that player consent does not cover military use, raising legal and ethical concerns.

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Story summary

The U.S. Army will receive AI navigation technology for drones built from Pokémon Go scans supplied by Niantic Spatial and Vantor.
Vantor secured a February contract worth up to $217 million to train Army missions using immersive 3D terrains.
The AI models were trained on roughly 30 billion player-submitted AR scans collected through Pokémon Go.
Critics argue that player consent does not cover military use, raising legal and ethical concerns.