A new partnership routes Spexi’s aerial captures through Niantic Spatial’s Reconstruction API to produce city-scale 3D Gaussian splats for enterprise customers.
Niantic Spatial and Spexi Geospatial announced a strategic partnership that pairs Spexi’s aerial data network with Niantic Spatial’s 3D reconstruction pipeline. The deal positions drone imagery for physical AI as an on-demand enterprise service.
Customers can commission drone captures through Spexi and receive high-fidelity, geometrically accurate 3D reconstructions delivered as 3D Gaussian splats. The outputs are accessible through a Niantic Spatial Viewer and measurement tool embedded inside the Spexi World platform, and arrive geo-referenced for drop-in placement on large-area maps.
Drone Imagery for Physical AI at City Scale
Spexi has been chosen as a preferred drone imagery provider for training Niantic Spatial’s real-world foundation models for physical AI. The companies say city-scale data and beyond will be captured, stitched, and grounded in geometry for simulation, location, and training.
“For physical AI to work in the real world, it needs a foundation grounded in reality. Combining Spexi’s capture network with our reconstruction technology and real-world models gets us significantly closer to that and delivers real operational value for our customers,” said Inhi Cho Suh, CEO, Niantic Spatial. “Until now, high-quality 3D reconstruction has largely operated at the scale of an object or building. This partnership takes it to city scale and more.”
A Drone-to-3D Pipeline for Enterprises
Spexi’s network includes more than 10,000 drone pilots and has mapped over six million acres at 2.8 cm resolution, roughly ten times sharper than satellite imagery. Autonomous, standardized flight protocols are optimized for machine learning, and Niantic Spatial’s reconstruction pipeline has been calibrated to those workflows.
“Together, Spexi and Niantic Spatial deliver a drone-to-3D pipeline that will redefine the next generation of physical AI, unlocking more accurate, up-to-date, and immersive representations of the built environment,” said Bill Lakeland, CEO, Spexi. “Partnering with Niantic Spatial means customers can now go from raw imagery to actionable 3D intelligence in one seamless workflow. That’s a step change in what drone data can achieve for real-world applications.”
Target use cases include infrastructure inspection, insurance risk assessment, energy site analysis, asset management, and 3D measurement.
More information is available at Niantic Spatial and Spexi.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist focusing on drone technology and lifestyle content at Dronelife. He is based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys hiking and Boston area sports.
