- Niantic Spatial and Coco Robotics are partnering to improve navigation for autonomous delivery robots using Niantic’s Visual Positioning System.
- The technology uses geospatial AI and computer vision to provide precise localization in urban environments where GPS signals can be unreliable.
- The companies said the collaboration will focus on improving robot navigation in complex city settings such as dense streets and delivery pickup zones.
Niantic Spatial announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Coco Robotics to provide spatial AI infrastructure for the company’s autonomous delivery robots.
Under the agreement, Niantic Spatial will deploy its Visual Positioning System technology to improve navigation accuracy for Coco’s robotic delivery fleet operating in complex urban environments. According to the company, the system is designed to supplement or replace GPS in areas where signals are degraded, such as dense city streets or “urban canyons.”
“The promise of last-mile robotics is immense, but the reality of navigating chaotic city streets is one of the hardest engineering challenges,” Niantic Spatial CEO John Hanke said in the announcement. “We are thrilled to be working with Coco Robotics as our first robotics partner and deploying spatial intelligence to help solve these challenges head-on.”
The companies said their engineering teams will collaborate on technologies aimed at improving robot localization and navigation, particularly in situations where precise positioning is required, such as reaching delivery pick-up points or navigating complex street layouts.
Niantic Spatial’s Visual Positioning System uses geospatial data and computer vision to determine a robot’s location with greater precision than standard satellite positioning. The technology can incorporate multiple data sources, including 2D and 3D mapping inputs, and is designed to function without requiring extensive pre-mapping of environments.
“We’re excited to bring the Niantic Spatial and Coco Robotics engineering teams together in this unique design partnership. It gives us reliable access to localization services that further improve robot navigation,” noted Zach Rash, Co-Founder and CEO of Coco Robotics. “Looking ahead, we’ll jointly explore new ways to enable Coco’s robots to operate with increasing safety and autonomy in any city.”
Coco Robotics operates autonomous delivery robots that transport food and other goods across urban neighborhoods. Niantic Spatial said the partnership reflects growing interest in using geospatial AI infrastructure to support autonomous systems operating in real-world environments.
last month, Coco Robotics launched Coco 2, its latest autonomous delivery robot designed to transition the company from human-assisted operations toward full autonomy. The platform expanded operations beyond sidewalks into bike lanes and select roadways while using upgraded edge computing hardware and training on millions of urban miles to support broader citywide delivery deployments.
