Technology and applications
Niantic Spatial's platform services are powered by a large geospatial model (LGM), spatial counterparts to large language models (LLMs), designed to give machines a contextual understanding of space and structure.[17] Niantic Spatial's large geospatial model is built on a proprietary database of over 30 billion posed images that help aid learning language models with spatial reasoning.[18]
Niantic Spatial offers the Scaniverse app for mobile devices, which utilizes Gaussian splatting to capture 3D models of objects, spaces, and environments in real time.[19] Niantic Spatial also captures mapping data from aerial drones and a custom-built mapping device called Photon.[20]
Localization focuses on positioning users, AI agents, and AR content in space. Niantic Spatial offers its Visual Positioning System (VPS) for centimeter-scale positioning, orientation, and tracking for millions of pre-mapped locations[21], including GPS-denied environments.[22]
Understanding focuses on providing real-time contextual awareness of the world. Niantic Spatial’s AI capabilities deliver this through per-pixel semantic analysis to classify environments into categories like ground and sky[23], and computer vision models that detect and track over 200 types of objects.
Niantic Spatial operates 8th Wall, a development platform that enables creators to build and publish interactive WebAR experiences. It provides a complete set of tools, including a cloud-based IDE and computer vision technology, allowing for the creation of immersive 3D and XR content that works across a wide range of devices without requiring an app.[24] In November 2025, it was announced that after seven years of operation, 8th Wall would be shut down. Existing projects on the platform will remain available until the services are closed in early 2027.[25]
Video games
Ingress, launched in 2012 and reworked into Unity in 2018, transferred to Niantic Spatial during its spin-off. Ingress is a global-scale version of capture the flag where players battle for control of virtual portals at real-world landmarks.[26]
Peridot, another Niantic intellectual property, includes a collection of products within its franchise, also transferred to Niantic Spatial during its spin-off. It is an AR and AI pet simulation game that launched on mobile devices in 2023.[27] The next products are a mixed-reality experience on Meta Quest[28] and Apple Vision Pro[29] called Hello, Dot, and an augmented-reality glasses experience on Snap's Spectacles called Peridot Beyond.
