If you ever played Pokémon, you might have been spending more time outside this week than usual looking for creatures in Pokémon Go, the new app from Google spinoff Niantic Inc. If not, the app craze might look a little mysterious: it maps cute cartoon monsters onto real-world locations, including public parks, roads, and this man’s house. Players can catch the creatures by swiping the screen to throw Pokéballs, then level them up in the app. Players can also compete for control of Pokémon gyms, usually located at local landmarks.
The app has taken off like wildfire after its release on July 6. As of today it had more downloads than the dating app Tinder, and is giving Twitter the run for its money.
One player quickly determined that there was another way to play besides walking around his neighborhood. In posts on both reddit and tumblr, a user who goes by the name hyperion995 on reddit showed how he hooked his phone up to a DJI Phantom and a laptop in order to widen his Pokémon-catching radius.
With the phone running the app taped to the landing gear of the drone, this crafty Pokémon trainer mirrored the phone screen on the laptop. Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually allow for much long-range exploration, as hyperion995 writes:
“I actually don’t recommend this at all because the phone messes with the compass and pulls you out of GPS mode. If you do attempt this, make sure to be in an open area where a falling phone can’t hurt or break anything as well as maintain line of sight with your drone because of the compass issues.”
He also said that the connection isn’t very reliable when using data, and that the AirMirror program he used to mirror the game might not allow enough control to actually catch a Pokemon, although it can be used to interact with menus.
So is it practical? No. Amusing? Yes. Is it cheating, as the original post asked? Probably.
Security pundits have had an eye on Pokémon Go too, since using the game with a Google account appears to allow access to a user’s entire account, including emails and Google Drive files.