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== 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 ===
=== AR Mapping tasks ===
=== Pokémon Playgrounds ===
== 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 ==
== 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>