Insider Brief
- Niantic Spatial and Spexi Geospatial have partnered to turn drone imagery into large-scale 3D intelligence for physical AI applications by combining Spexi’s aerial data network with Niantic Spatial’s reconstruction technology.
- The collaboration makes Spexi a preferred drone imagery provider for training Niantic Spatial’s real-world foundation models and is aimed at expanding 3D reconstruction from individual buildings to city-scale environments.
- Customers will be able to commission drone captures through Spexi and process the imagery through Niantic Spatial’s Reconstruction API to generate high-fidelity 3D models for applications including simulation, infrastructure inspection and industrial site analysis.
Niantic Spatial and Spexi Geospatial have formed a partnership aimed at turning drone imagery into large-scale 3D intelligence for physical AI applications by combining Spexi’s aerial data network with Niantic Spatial’s reconstruction technology.
According to the companies, the partnership makes Spexi a preferred drone imagery provider for training Niantic Spatial’s real-world foundation models for physical AI. The collaboration is designed to expand 3D reconstruction capabilities from individual objects and buildings to city-scale environments.
“For physical AI to work in the real world, it needs a foundation grounded in reality. Combining Spexi’s capture network with our reconstruction technology and real-world models gets us significantly closer to that and delivers real operational value for our customers,” said Niantic Spatial CEO Inhi Cho Suh. “Until now, high-quality 3D reconstruction has largely operated at the scale of an object or building. This partnership takes it to city scale and more.”
The agreement also allows customers to commission drone captures through Spexi and process the imagery through Niantic Spatial’s Reconstruction API, creating high-fidelity, geometrically accurate 3D models. The resulting reconstructions, generated as 3D Gaussian splats, will be accessible through a viewer and measurement tool embedded within the Spexi World platform.
Spexi operates a drone imagery network with more than 10,000 drone pilots and has mapped more than six million acres using standardized autonomous flight systems optimized for machine learning. The company said its imagery reaches resolutions significantly sharper than satellite imagery.
Niantic Spatial said its reconstruction pipeline has been calibrated to work directly with Spexi’s capture workflows, allowing drone imagery to be converted into detailed spatial models for applications including simulation, infrastructure inspection, insurance analysis, asset management and industrial site monitoring.
“Together, Spexi and Niantic Spatial deliver a drone-to-3D pipeline that will redefine the next generation of physical AI, unlocking more accurate, up-to-date, and immersive representations of the built environment,” said Spexi CEO Bill Lakeland added. “Partnering with Niantic Spatial means customers can now go from raw imagery to actionable 3D intelligence in one seamless workflow. That’s a step change in what drone data can achieve for real-world applications.”
