Before the companies split, the AR scan feature was gradually rolling out, and we could see it in action — it looked like the company cared about it:
- players received poffins for pokéstop scans and shadow bans for fake scans;
- AR localization was tested in overclock portals and generally worked under typical conditions;
- the reconstructed 3D models could be viewed in the Lightship geospatial browser — both for well-scanned portals and even sidewalk scans;
- (we also know that the wayfarer team didn’t remove bad wayspots that were scanned, no matter what people tried to do with scans)
After the split, the Scaniverse and Ingress teams moved to Niantic Spatial, and the Pokémon GO lead said in an interview that Pokémon would focus more on gameplay and less on experimental features. However, trainers can still scan pokéstops for poffins.
So my questions are:
- Are pokéstop scans actually being used for anything right now?
- Will they still be used for AR localization in the future?
- Will the new map of wayspots include reconstructed 3D models, similar to the geospatial browser?
- Can players still get shadow-banned for sidewalk or low-quality scans?
- Will the wayfarer team be able to access AR scans as additional evidence when reviewing reports about wayspots?
Thanks!