Niantic plots a “real-world metaverse”

Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, is making its AR-focused “real-world metaverse” app creator open source for developers.

Together with

Niantic plots a “real-world metaverse”

 

The Future. Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, is making its AR-focused “real-world metaverse” app creator open source for developers. The hope is to empower AR creators to work on a larger, interconnected platform… one that may bridge the worlds between closed-off iOS and Android operating systems.

AR you ready?
Niantic wants to turn the whole world into a playable AR world.

  • Niantic is opening up its Lightship software — a platform for building “real-world metaverse” apps — to developers for free.
  • Lightship is “built around the parts necessary to stitch together the digital and the real world.”
  • Lightship lets an app’s camera view map the environment, determine depth, and even place digital objects behind real-world ones.
  • Developers can also pay to access a feature that allows the app to connect multiple devices to a shared AR experience.

Additionally, Niantic is working on an update to the platform that would create a “visual positioning system” for AR headsets — meaning that whatever digital object is rendered in the real world will stay wherever it’s supposed to (as opposed to floating around).

And because Niantic wants to be the Meta of AR, it also set up a $20 million fund for AR startups —  CEO John Hanke’s way of fighting back against what he calls a VR-metaverse “dystopian nightmare.”

David Vendrell

Born and raised a stone’s-throw away from the Everglades, David left the Florida swamp for the California desert. Over-caffeinated, he stares at his computer too long either writing the TFP newsletter or screenplays. He is repped by Anonymous Content.

TOGETHER WITH CANVA

No design skills needed! 🪄✨

Canva Pro is the design software that makes design simple, convenient, and reliable. Create what you need in no time! Jam-packed with time-saving tools that make anyone look like a professional designer.

Create amazing content quickly with Canva