Software Engineering Daily

Niantic is the company behind Pokemon Go, an augmented reality game where users walk around in the real world and catch Pokemon which appear on their screen.

The idea for augmented reality has existed for a long time. But the technology to bring augmented reality to the mass market has appeared only recently. Improved mobile technology makes it possible for a smartphone to display rendered 3-D images over a video stream without running out of battery.

Ingress was the first game to come out of Niantic, followed by Pokemon Go, but there are other games on the way. Niantic is also working on the Niantic Real World platform, a “planet-scale” AR platform that will allow independent developers to build multiplayer augmented reality experiences that are as dynamic and entertaining as Pokemon Go.

Paul Franceus is an engineer at Niantic, and he joins the show to describe his experience building and launching Pokemon Go, as well as abstracting the technology from Pokemon Go and opening up the Niantic Real World platform to developers.

Niantic developer contest finalists

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