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Augmented Reality

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= [[Augmented Reality ]] (AR) is a technology that overlays computer-generated images, sounds, and contextual data onto the real world, creating an interactive composite view. Unlike [[Virtual Reality]], which replaces the user’s surroundings entirely, AR supplements reality—letting digital [[Pokémon]] appear on streets, in parks, or even on a player’s desk. Since its launch in July 2016, Pokémon GO has continuously expanded its AR tool-set, evolving from a simple camera overlay into sophisticated, persistent, and shared experiences that leverage surface detection, spatial mapping, and cloud anchoring.<!-- :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0} -->
''Augmented reality'' (AR) in '''Pokémon GO''' allows digital Pokémon, items, and UI elements to be rendered over the live camera feed, appearing as if they occupy physical space around the Trainer. Since the game’s launch in July 2016, developer '''[[Niantic]]''' has expanded AR from For a simple overlay broader introduction to advanced experiences such as [[AR+]], [[GO Snapshot]], [[Buddy Adventure]], Reality Blending, AR Mapping, and [[Pokémon Playgrounds]]. These features rely on Apple’s [[ARKit]], Google’s [[ARCore]], and Niantic’s own [[Lightship]] ARDK and [[Visual Positioning System]] (VPS).<ref name="ARPlus2017" /><ref name="ARPlusAndroid2018" /><ref name="RealityBlending2020" /> == Definition and context ==AR in '''Pokémon GO''' uses '''marker-lessconcepts, inside-out tracking''' to lock 3-D Pokémon models to real-world planes detected by the device camera, enabling players to walk around, view them from different angles, and take photographs. The concept aligns with see the [[inside-out tracking]] article on the external [VR & AR Wiki](https://vrarwiki.com/wiki/Inside-out_tracking)VR & AR Wiki].<ref name="VRARwiki" />
== Historical development ==
! Year !! Milestone !! Key details !! Sources
|-
| 2016 || Launch overlay || Basic camera passthrough; could be toggled off optional toggle for battery savings. || <ref name="CatchingARHelpLaunch2016" >{{cite web|title=Pokémon GO Support—Catching Pokémon in AR mode|url=https://niantic.helpshift.com/|access-date=2025-04-27}}</ref>
|-
| 2017 || [[AR+]] (iOS) || Uses ARKit for surface Surface detection, proximity ‘‘stealth’’ meter , and ''Expert Handler'' bonuson ARKit devices. || <ref name="ARPlus2017" >{{cite web|title=AR+ is now available in Pokémon GO!|url=https://pokemongolive.com/post/arplus/|date=2017-12-20}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} -->
|-
| 2018 || AR+ on Android || Requires ARCore-compatible devices phones running Android 7.0+. || <ref name="ARPlusAndroid2018" >{{cite news|title=Pokémon GO AR+ comes to ARCore Android devices|url=https://9to5google.com/2018/10/11/pokemon-go-ar-plus-android/|date=2018-10-11}}</ref>
|-
| 2019 || [[GO Snapshot]] || Stand-alone photo mode for any stored Pokémon; supports social sharing and Smeargle photobombs. || <ref name="Snapshot2019" >{{cite web|title=Snap off the lens cap on your inner photographer!|url=https://pokemongolive.com/post/go-snapshot-announce/|date=2019-02-11}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} -->
|-
| 2019 || [[Buddy Adventure]] || Lets Let Trainers interact with and photograph their buddies together in Shared AR. || <ref name="Buddy2019" >{{cite web|title=Buddy Adventure coming soon—even more ways to explore, grow, and bond with your buddy!|url=https://pokemongolive.com/post/buddyadventurelaunch/|date=2019-12-17}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3} -->
|-
| 2020 || Reality Blending & AR Mapping || Depth-based occlusion and crowd-sourced PokéStop ScansScan tasks. || <ref name="RealityBlending2020" >{{cite web|title=Reality Blending and PokéStop Scanning Come to Pokémon GO|url=https://nianticlabs.com/news/realityblending-announcement/|date=2020-05-26}}</ref><ref name!-- :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index="ARMappingHelp" /4} -->
|-
| 2024 || [[Pokémon Playgrounds]] || VPS-anchored, persistent AR that other players can see. || <ref name="Playgrounds2024" >{{cite web|title=Engineering Pokémon Playgrounds|url=https://nianticlabs.com/news/pokemon-playgrounds/|date=2024-11-13}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5} -->
|}
=== AR Catching & AR+ ===
* '''Surface detection''' creates tall grass; tapping reveals **Standard AR mode** places the wild Pokémonin the centre of the camera feed and tracks the device’s [[gyroscope]] and [[accelerometer]] for orientation.<ref name="CatchingARHelp" /> * '''Stealth meter''' rewards slow**AR+ mode** (2017 iOS / 2018 Android) anchors Pokémon to detected planes, renders them at canonical scale, careful motion with and introduces an ''Expert Handler'' XP/Stardust bonus*awareness meter*—approach too quickly and the target may flee.<ref name="ARPlus2017" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6} -->
=== [[GO Snapshot ]] ===* Players can place choose any caught Pokémon, change anglesplace it on a detected surface, reposition it, and tap to direct its gazecapture photos. Smeargle and special-event photobombs may appear after a snapshot session.<ref name="Snapshot2019" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7} -->
=== [[Buddy Adventure ]] & Shared AR ===In * Up *Play Together**, Trainers feed, pet, and walk with their [[Buddy Pokémon]] rendered in real space; Shared AR syncs up to three Trainers can synchronize their buddies for group photos and mini-games.<ref name="Buddy2019" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8} -->
=== Reality Blending ===
* Depth-based occlusion lets Supported devices use depth APIs to let Pokémon move *behind * furniture, or trees, or other objects on supported devicesimproving realism through occlusion.<ref name="RealityBlending2020" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9} -->
=== AR Mapping tasks ===
* Spinning a PokéStop with an “AR Mapping” tag grants a Field Research task that labelled **AR Mapping** asks the player Trainers to record a 20short, anonymised videos of PokéStops; these scans refine Niantic’s 3-second scan; rewards include items D maps and help expand VPS coverageunlock in-game bonuses such as powered-up PokéStops.<ref name="ARMappingHelpRealityBlending2020" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10} -->
=== Pokémon Playgrounds ===
* An experimental feature that lets Trainers can leave anchor Pokémon anchored persistently at real-world landmarks for others to discover laterand photograph, creating persistent shared scenesenabled by Niantic’s [[Visual Positioning System]].<ref name="Playgrounds2024" /><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11} -->
== Technology stack ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Layer !! Implementation|-| Device frameworks || [[ARKit]] (iOS 11+) and [[ARCore]] (Android 7+) supply plane finding, light estimation, and motion tracking.<ref name="ARPlusAndroid2018" />|-| Lightship ARDK || Niantic’s cross-platform SDK adds depth, meshing, and semantic segmentation.<ref name="RealityBlending2020" />|-| Visual Positioning System || Cloud anchors provide centimeter-level geopose accuracy for Playgrounds and future features.<ref name="Playgrounds2024" />!! Sources
|-
| Device frameworks || [[ARKit]] planeFinding on iOS 11+ devices<ref name="ARKitDoc">{{cite web|title=Tracking and visualizing planes – Apple ARKit documentation|url=https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/tracking-and-visualizing-planes}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12} --> and [[ARCore]] Plane APIs on Android 7+ phones<ref name="ARCoreDoc">{{cite web|title=Plane – ARCore reference|url=https://developers.google.com/ar/reference/java/com/google/ar/core/Plane}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13} --> || Niantic Lightship ARDK || Cross-platform SDK adding meshing, depth, semantic segmentation, and multiplayer.<ref name="Lightship">{{cite web|title=Niantic Lightship ARDK Release Notes v3.11|url=https://lightship.dev/docs/ardk/release_notes/release3.11/}}</ref><!-- :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14} --> || Visual Positioning System || Cloud-hosted anchors with centimetre accuracy power Playgrounds and future persistent content.<ref name="Playgrounds2024"/> || Networking || Peer-to-peer sessions synchronize synchronise transforms for Shared AR.<ref name="Buddy2019" />|
|}
== Gameplay impact ==
* '''**Immersion & social play:''' Shared sessions and persistent anchors let Trainers co-create scenes creativity** – AR photography (#GOsnapshot), Reality Blending, and storiesPlaygrounds deepen the illusion that Pokémon coexist with the physical world.<ref name="Playgrounds2024" /> * '''Rewards & progression:''' **Physical activity** – AR+ yields bonus XP/Stardustincentives encourage exploration; Mapping tasks give items and help unlock powered-up PokéStopsstudies report increased daily step counts among active players.<ref name="ARPlus2017" /><ref name="ARMappingHelp" /> * '''Community creativity:''' Niantic hosts regular #GOsnapshot contests to showcase **Social connection** – Shared AR photographysessions and Playgrounds create collaborative in-person moments.<ref name="Snapshot2019" />
== Device support Challenges and limitations ==AR functions require gyroscope* **Battery and processing load** – Continuous camera, sensor fusion, and real-equipped phones that pass ARCore/ARKit certification; time rendering drain power, especially on older or budget devices can disable AR to save battery.<ref name="CatchingARHelp" /> Advanced options like Reality Blending * **Environmental constraints** – Very dim or Playgrounds have limited device and level rollover-bright settings reduce surface-tracking accuracy; textured, well-outslit areas work best.<ref name="RealityBlending2020ARCoreDoc" /><ref name="Playgrounds2024" * **Accessibility** – Advanced features require ARKit-/>ARCore-certified phones; players on legacy hardware can disable AR to maintain performance.
== Privacy and data considerations Influence on AR industry ==PokéStop Scans are anonymized—faces Pokémon GO’s mainstream success validated mobile AR design, inspiring titles such as *Harry Potter: Wizards Unite* and *Jurassic World Alive* and license plates are blurred—yet watchdog groups note that largedriving developer interest in Unity’s [[AR Foundation]]. The game has been credited with popularising inside-scale geospatial data could be misused if mishandledout, marker-less tracking for consumer devices.<ref name="RealityBlending2020InsideOut" >{{cite web|title=Inside-out tracking – VR & AR Wiki|url=https://vrarwiki.com/wiki/Inside-out_tracking}}</ref><ref name!-- :contentReference[oaicite:15]{index="LGM2024" /15} -->
== Future outlook ==
Niantic’s Large Geospatial Model (LGM) aims to fuse geometryNiantic has signalled plans for richer occlusion, semanticsweather-aware behaviours, and cultural contexteventual headset support, paving the way for headset-based AR leveraging its Large Geospatial Model and richer narrative eventscontinued Lightship ARDK updates.<ref name="LGM2024Lightship" />
== External links ==
== References ==
<references><ref name="ARPlus2017">''AR+ is now available in Pokémon GO!'', Pokémon GO Live (December 20 2017). :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}</ref><ref name="ARPlusAndroid2018">Abner Li, “Pokémon GO AR+ comes to ARCore Android devices,” 9to5Google (October 11 2018). :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}</ref><ref name="Snapshot2019">''Snap off the lens cap on your inner photographer!'', Pokémon GO Live (February 11 2019). :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}</ref><ref name="Buddy2019">''Buddy Adventure coming soon—Even more ways to explore, grow, and bond with your buddy!'', Pokémon GO Live (December 17 2019). :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}</ref><ref name="RealityBlending2020">Kjell Bronder, “Reality Blending and PokéStop Scanning Come to Pokémon GO,” Niantic Labs Blog (May 26 2020). :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}</ref><ref name="ARMappingHelp">“What are AR Mapping tasks?” Pokémon GO Help Center (accessed April 27 2025). :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}</ref><ref name="CatchingARHelp">“Catching Pokémon in AR mode,” Pokémon GO Help Center (accessed April 27 2025). :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}</ref><ref name="Playgrounds2024">“Engineering Pokémon Playgrounds,” Niantic Labs Blog (November 13 2024). :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}</ref><ref name="LGM2024">Eric Brachmann & Victor Prisacariu, “Building a Large Geospatial Model to Achieve Spatial Intelligence,” Niantic Labs Blog (November 12 2024). :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}</ref><ref name="VRARwiki">“Augmented Reality Devices,” VR & AR Wiki (accessed April 27 2025). :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}</ref></references>
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