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How Pokémon Go players helped train a new generation of robots  March 23, 2026

 

Hello everybody and I hope you had a great weekend. I'm Allison Chinchar in for Coy Wire on this Monday, March 23rd and I am so excited to be back to bring you the best 10 minutes in news. So let's get to it.

 

We begin with a weather update out of Hawaiiwhich is dealing with the aftermath of a second Kona low storm in the span of just a few days. Officials say the storm dumped nearly 50 inches of rain on the island of Oahu which was still saturated from the previous weekend storm. Catastrophic flash flooding destroyed homes, damaged hospitals and airports and completely cut off some towns.

 

Evacuations were ordered across parts of the island including near a dam that appeared in danger of failing amid the heavy rain. Governor Josh Green says at least 236 people have been rescued from the treacherous conditions but told CNN that so far there have been no reported deaths.

 

You know we've had 40 to 50 inches of rains the largest flood that we've had in 20 years but we've had no loss of life.

 

People have pitched in incredible work by our you know our first responders. We have the national guard called up over 200 people have helped us on that side.

 

pitch in 热情参与

 

Emergency responders are still struggling to reach some areas due to the flooding and it's unclear exactly how many homes have been destroyed.

 

The storm could ultimately cause more than one billion dollars in damage across the state and what's crazy is this same system brought snow to the mountain peaks of the big island on Sunday and will continue through this morning with totals of six to ten inches.

 

Now you've likely heard of or maybe even played Pokemon Go. Since its launch in 2016 billions of players around the world have used the augmented reality app in a bid to catch them all but now that decades worth of crowdsourced data is being used for a surprising purpose.

 

augmented reality 扩增实境

crowdsource ['kraʊdsɔs] v.（网络）群众外包，众包; 透过群众力量完成

 

Training next-gen delivery robots. Our Shama Nasindi has more on how the surprising process is playing out.

 

That game you played in 2016? It's now training robots.

 

Pokemon Go generated billions of user-submitted images according to Niantic, the company that created it. Ten years later that data is being used to train delivery robots.

 

After Niantic and Pokemon Go were acquired by video game developer Scopely in 2025, Niantic's founder launched a separate AI spinoff called Niantic Spatial.

 

spinoff ['spɪnˌɔf] n. 伴随的结果(有用的副产品；派生)

 

Niantic Spatial kept the game's crowdsourced data including videos and scans of locations that players used as pokestops and training gyms to create digital models of cities across the world.

 

In a joint venture with robotics startup Coco, Niantic Spatial's 3D AI model will train a fleet of delivery robots to navigate busy urban streets including areas where GPS doesn't always work reliably. The technology that made this possible has been in the works for a while according to Niantic Spatial.

 

joint venture 合资企业

 

And while players may not have realized their scans could be used this way, Niantic Spatial told CNN that any user-generated visual data was quote anonymized and optional without any player personal data associated.

 

anonymize [ə'nɑnəmaɪz] v. 使... 匿名； 隐去... 自姓名

optional ['ɑpʃənəl] adj. 任选的; 可选择的, 非强制的

 

10-second trivia. Friday marked the spring equinox, so what causes the equinox to happen?

 

Is it the moon blocking the sun, earth's tilt, solar flares, or changes in ocean currents?

 

The answer here is earth's tilt and position in orbit.

 

On the equinox neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun. It focuses directly over the equator. The result, every place on earth gets about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

 

equator [ɪ'kwetər] n. 赤道

 

Now good news for those of you who are tired of those frigid wintertemperatures. Spring has sprung. March 20th marked the vernal equinox, the official astronomical start of the spring season in the northern hemisphere.

 

vernal equinox 春分

vernal ['vɜrnl] adj. 春天的；青春的；春天般清新的

 

So a happy fall to our friends in the south of the equator as well.

 

fall [fɔl] n. 秋天

 

Equinoxes occur twice a year when the sun passes directly over the earth's equator, resulting in a nearly perfect split of day and night. The celestial events have long been tied to sacred traditions around the world, like this positively illuminating event in Mexico.

 

illuminating [ɪ'lumənetɪŋ] adj. 照亮的；启蒙的；照明的

 

Hot air balloons filled with pre-dawn sky and visitors from around the world gathered at the ancient pyramid of the sun to watch the sunrise in hopes of harnessing its energy.

 

From the moment you step on the ground, you feel the attraction from the earth. We come from sky, sea, earth, and fire.

 

So I feel that everything is energy. We are energy. From the moment you are here, you feel a vibe.

 

vibe [vaɪb] n. 感应；<非正式>氛围，气氛

 

It's about concentrating and feeling in your heart and everything vibrates.

 

Now, did you know pigeons historicallyserved as crucial messengers because of their ability to travel long distances and return to their owners?

 

Now in Iraq, they've gained the spotlight in the nation's popular bird sporting world. This athletic center says it has trained thousands of pigeons to withstand hours of continuous flight using electronic identification rings that allow them to track their movements.

 

The center owner says they typically train the birds for about a year before entering them into competitions. One race recently drew 830 birds for a challenge spanning more than 280 miles.

 

It's official, BTS is back.

 

After nearly a four-year break, the preeminent Korean pop music group is returning. Now, the group took time off for mandatory military service in South Korea, but they just launched a new album and a world tour featuring several stops in North America.

 

preeminent [priˋɛmɪnənt] adj. 卓越的；优秀的；超群的

 

K-pop is gaining traction globally as evidenced by the hundreds of coordinated listening parties that took place on Friday around the world.

 

gain traction 受到关注 (欢迎)

traction ['trækʃn] n. 吸引力

listening party 听歌会

 

We got a chance to hang out with some die-hard BTS fans known as ARMY right here in Atlanta. Take a look.

 

We came because we love BTS.

 

We are here at Politan Row at Colony Square celebrating BTS's Arirang comeback. They haven't had an album in four years, so we're here to celebrate their new album and kind of come together as a group and a collective to celebrate them getting out of the military.

 

I love it, no skips, and if you come inside, you'll love it too.

 

Not everybody speaks Korean, but we speak love and we love music, right? So for you guys who are not familiar, we are fans of BTS. They just all got out of the military and they just dropped the album.

 

This allows us to get together, listen to the album together, and celebrate the album.

 

The album I feel like definitely was just BTS. It was unique, true to what I think is a new era to them.

 

So all of the vendors on the inside have BTS themed food items, then we have a bubble tea vendor where I provided cup sleeves with BTS's album on it.

 

cup sleeve 杯套、咖啡杯套或隔热杯套

 

They're doing a cup sleeve event along with a comeback and when you buy a themed drink, it comes with this really cool cup sleeve that's usually designed by a fan. And they're like a little collector's item and it's just really fun.

 

We're gonna have a K-pop random dance play.

 

If you know all the BTS choreography, you will get a life skill.

 

choreography [͵korɪˋɑgrəfɪ] n. 编舞艺术；舞蹈编排

life skill 生活技能

 

I'm here to celebrate the BTS comeback. I've been super excited for it for a long time and I have a bunch of friends through ARMY, the fan base.

 

So yeah, I just wanted to come out and have fun, be with my friends, and celebrate the new album.

 

Do not stop at the language when it comes to K-pop. It doesn't matter.

 

Once you look up the lyrics and you listen to the beat, you'll understand that it's just like American music. So go beyond the language and join us.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10,is checking in from the checkout line where one teen is bagging the spotlight and proving there's a lot more strategy behind bagging groceries than you might think.

 

check in 取得联系，查看

checkout ['tʃɛkaʊt] n. 结帐

bag the spotlight 成为焦点; 抢尽风头( bag = steal, 双关语)

 

Now at first glance, it may seem simple. Scan, bag, repeat. But for 17-year-old Rocco Camrata, every item has a place and a purpose.

 

Put your two walls in and then get two heavy items. Put those on a side and just fill the rest with filler items.

 

wall [wɔl] n. 墙状物 (指的是利用外型扁平、堅硬且穩固的物品如: 麥片盒、冷凍披薩盒、餅乾包裝盒或義大利麵盒)

filler item（尤指用于填木头和墙壁的小洞及裂缝的）填充物，填料(这里指 常见物品：一包香料、几条巧克力、一小罐优格、袋装蔬菜或单个散装的水果。)

 

Speed and technique helped him bag more than just groceries.

 

It earned him first place at this year's National Grocers Association Best Bagger Championship and $10,000 prize. For Camrata, the skill comes with practice and family roots.

 

His dad has worked at public supermarkets for over 30 years.

 

His parents met at a grocery store and his older brother competed in the contest too. And in the end, it all checked out, securing him the win on the national stage.

 

All right, superstars.

 

I've got time for two shout outs today. This first one is going to Ms. McNeil at Equitas Charter Academy No. 4 in Los Angeles.

 

Thank you all so much for all the kind letters and the cards from your students. Now this next one is going to Mrs. Boudreau at Hillsboro Deering Middle School in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. Thank you so much for this super cool rhinestone art.

 

rhinestone ['raɪnston] n. 莱茵石(一种透明无色的钻石仿制品)

 

This is absolutely stunning. Love all the sparkles. And thank you for making us a part of your day.

 

Coy will be back tomorrow. I'm Alison Chinchar and this is CNN 10.