We’re building real-world foundational models for physical AI, so people and machines can work efficiently and safely together. Today, we’re taking another step toward that future with an MOU with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to jointly evaluate the technical feasibility and potential applications of building Singapore’s first Visual Positioning System (VPS). This will pave the way for more precise location-based services that can support smart city applications, including autonomous robots, smart infrastructure and future artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
SLA serves as Singapore’s national geospatial and mapping agency and maintains authoritative high-resolution mapping data, including aerial imagery and nationwide 3D point clouds. We’ll combine its data sets with Niantic Spatial’s expertise in geospatial AI, computer vision and visual positioning technologies, to explore the feasibility of leveraging national datasets combined with advanced visual positioning technology, with the aim of enabling robots and machines to understand and navigate the physical world with greater precision.
Through the collaboration, we will also assess how well VPS performs across Singapore’s unique urban landscape and explore applications in autonomous navigation, robotics and other emerging industries that require precise positioning. They can include urban planning and city operations, emergency response and public safety as well as location-based digital experiences.
“Singapore has some of the richest geospatial data of any country in the world. This pilot tests whether we can turn that national investment into infrastructure machines can use to navigate safely, but without the cost of scanning a city street by street. If we can prove that here, it’s a blueprint for what trustworthy physical AI looks like at national scale.” – Inhi Cho Suh, Chief Executive, Niantic Spatial
“SLA’s authoritative and comprehensive geospatial datasets provide a strong foundation for innovation. Through this collaboration, we will explore how combining these trusted national datasets with advanced positioning technologies can enable next-generation applications and deliver tangible benefits.” – Calvin Phua, Chief Executive, Singapore Land Authority
