Niantic, Inc.

Google Inc.

John V Hanke

Phillip Craig Keslin

Charles Spirakis

Mark A Aubin

James Dinkelacker

Keith Patrick Golden

Alexander Vladimirov

David Kornmann

Chris Hibbert

Yennie Solheim

Lior Stern

Tatsuo Nomura

Daniel Trawick Egnor

Lawrence Elias Greenfield

Francois Bailly

Edward Wu

Leif Hendrik Wilden

Ioannis Tsoukalidis

Jim Wang

Michael Steranka

Raza Ahmad

Kento Suga

Mike Quigley

William J Kilday

Bill Kilday

Keith Shoji Kiyohara

Madoka Katayama

Marius C Milner

Hiroki Asakawa

Motoki Yano

Chihiro Kanno

Kentaro Morikawa

Shunsuke Uematsu

Leor Stern

Yuki Sonoda

Kousuke Kawahira

Bill J Kilday

Computer-implemented methods and systems for locating virtual elements that can be used or collected by players of a parallel reality game having a virtual world that parallels at least a portion of the real world are provided. In particular, the location of virtual elements in the virtual world is determined based on data associated with one or more real world conditions. Virtual elements can be located in the virtual world at locations corresponding to locations in the real world that encourage safe and effective game play. Locating virtual elements in the virtual world based on data associated with real world conditions improves the link between the parallel virtual world and the real world, enhancing the illusion that the virtual world is another dimension of the real world that the player can interact with through the parallel reality game.

Placement of virtual elements in a virtual world associated with a location-based parallel reality game

A system provides an augmented reality (AR) experience in a parallel-reality application in which a geography of a virtual world parallels a geography of the real world. The system receives a connection request from a client device and receives a route that the client device traversed in the real world. The route comprises a plurality of locations in the real world. The system determines a plurality of virtual locations to place virtual elements at, where each virtual element corresponds to a location in the real world of the route. The system updates a global state of the AR experience to include the plurality of virtual elements at the plurality of virtual locations. The system provides, to a second client device, AR data including some of the virtual locations for display of some of the virtual elements at the corresponding locations in the real world.

Multi-user route tracking in an augmented reality environment

Systems and methods for linking real world activity, such as real world commercial activity or real world data collection activity, with a location-based parallel reality game are provided. In particular, a game server hosting a parallel reality game can modify, update, or add to game data stored in a game database associated with the parallel reality game to include certain game features in the parallel reality game linked with real world activity in the real world. The game features can be linked with activities in the real world such that player actions associated with the game features in the virtual world can lead to or encourage activity in the real world, such as commercial activity and/or data collection activity in the real world. A one-time password may be used to validate a player's location in the real world and to enable controlled access to game features in the virtual world.

Validating a player's real-world location using activity within a parallel-reality game

Interactive geographic information systems (GIS) and techniques are disclosed that provide users with a greater degree of flexibility, utility, and information. A markup language is provided that facilitates communication between servers and clients of the interactive GIS, which enables a number of GIS features, such as network links (time-based and/or view-dependent dynamic data layers), ground overlays, screen overlays, placemarks, 3D models, and stylized GIS elements, such as geometry, icons, description balloons, polygons, and labels in the viewer by which the user sees the target area. Also, 'virtual tours' of user-defined paths in the context of distributed geospatial visualization is enabled. Streaming and interactive visualization of filled polygon data are also enabled thereby allowing buildings and other such features to be provided in 3D. Also, techniques for enabling ambiguous search requests in a GIS are provided.

Processing ambiguous search requests in a geographic information system

Validating a player's real-world location using activity within a parallel reality game

Systems and methods for linking real world activity, such as real world commercial activity or real world data collection activity, with a location-based parallel reality game are provided. In particular, a game server hosting a parallel reality game can modify, update, or add to game data stored in a game database associated with the parallel reality game to include certain game features in the parallel reality game linked with real world activity in the real world. The game features can be linked with activities in the real world such that player actions associated with the game features in the virtual world can lead to or encourage activity in the real world, such as commercial activity and/or data collection activity in the real world.

Linking real world activities with a parallel reality game

A parallel reality game has a virtual world that parallels at least a portion of the real world. A captured region is identified within the virtual world that is associated with a team within the parallel reality game. A geographic region is identified within the real world corresponding to the captured region within the virtual world. Data associated with population density for at least a portion of the geographic region is accessed. A score is assigned for the captured region based on the population density.

Regulating and scoring player interactions within a virtual world associated with a location-based parallel reality game

The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method for location-based content publishing. The method includes a step for receiving indication of a user subscription to one or more publisher feeds, wherein each of the one or more publisher feeds provides multiple content items, each content item being associated with a location. The method also includes a step for receiving a request for content items, wherein the request includes information about the user's location based on a mobile device of the user. The method also includes a step for selecting content items provided by the one or more publisher feeds based on the user's location and based on the location associated with the content items. The method also includes a step for providing at least a portion of the selected content items for display on the user's mobile device.

Geo-location based content publishing platform

Systems and methods for verifying player proximity within a location-based game are disclosed. In one aspect, a method for verifying player proximity may include receiving a request associated with verifying the proximity of a first player of the location-based game relative to a second player of the location-based game and transmitting a visual indicator to a first client of the first player, wherein the visual indicator is associated with a data record configured to expire within a predetermined time period. In addition, the method may include receiving a copy of the visual indicator from a second client of the second player and determining whether the copy of the visual indicator was received prior to the expiration of the data record.

Systems and methods for verifying player proximity within a location-based game

Growing community of inventors

Piedmont, CA, United States of America

John V Hanke