Niantic opens 100 real-world 3D scenes for robot sim; Vesoma stealth-launches humanoid Kyle
lukas_m_ziegler · x · 2026-09-29
Two robotics updates:
Niantic Spatial launched the Places Library
- 100 high-fidelity real-world 3D environments for training robots in simulation.
- Each ships as a photorealistic Gaussian splat paired with an aligned collision mesh from a single reconstruction — no drift between what the robot sees and what it can hit.
- Covers industrial, logistics, commercial, and residential settings; captured with an ordinary 360° camera, no LiDAR needed.
Munich-based Vesoma emerged from stealth with humanoid robot Kyle
- 60+ employees across Munich and Limassol.
- Led by ex-Google DeepMind research director Martin Riedmiller and Synapticon co-founder Nikolai Ensslen; design lead worked on Tesla Optimus, Apptronik Apollo, and Cartwheel Yogi.
- Designed, built, and walked first prototypes with learned locomotion within 6 months.
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