How to Get Paid to 3D Scan the World
OVER is on a mission to create a digital twin of the world. In this episode, we will discover how OVER is revolutionizing spatial computing and enabling creators to build accurate AR experiences, while rewarding contributors with its "Map-to-Earn" program. Learn how its Visual Positioning System (VPS) outperforms traditional GPS and how the future of AR is being built—one 3D map at a time.
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Interview with Diego Di Tommaso
How is OVER creating the largest 3D AR map of the world, and how far have you come?
Diego Di Tommaso: Our main focus at OVER is to create a 3D map of the world’s most important locations. We believe this data is the key to unlocking the future of augmented reality. Traditional GPS is just not precise enough—its accuracy is limited to a few meters, and it doesn’t work indoors at all. That’s why we’re building a Visual Positioning System (VPS), which enables AR experiences to be placed exactly where they need to be in the real world. So far, we’ve generated 68,000 3D maps, and we’re growing at 30% month over month. We started with just 300 maps per month, and now we’re generating more than 8,000. Our success is driven by a decentralized approach: people all over the world contribute by mapping locations, and they get rewarded for it.
What exactly is the “Map-to-Earn” program, and how do people participate?
Diego Di Tommaso: The Map-to-Earn program lets anyone with a smartphone participate in mapping the world. If you map a location that we’re interested in, we’ll buy that data from you. Alternatively, you can mint your map as an NFT and sell it independently. The idea is that contributors own the data they generate, unlike traditional web platforms where companies collect data for free. Payments range from $0.90 to $3 per map, but we also have “Treasure AR” rewards, where select locations offer anywhere from $10 to $1,250.
How do people get paid for mapping locations?
Diego Di Tommaso: Right now, participants earn OVER tokens, which they can store in a wallet and use in our ecosystem. However, we’re adding an option for users to convert their earnings into real-world gift cards. This is important for people who might not be interested in crypto but still want to participate. This means you could map a location, earn points, and then redeem them for an Amazon gift card without ever needing a crypto wallet.
How does scanning a location work? Do I need special hardware?
Diego Di Tommaso: No special hardware is needed—just your smartphone. We designed the app to work without LiDAR, so anyone with a standard RGB camera can participate. The process is like recording a video, but instead of saving a video file, we extract frames and reconstruct the scene in 3D. Mapping a 300-square-meter area takes about 3–5 minutes and generates anywhere from 400MB to a few gigabytes of data. Once you finish, the data is uploaded to our servers, where our GPU clusters process it into a 3D model using Gaussian Splat-based techniques.
Why is VPS better than GPS for AR experiences?
Diego Di Tommaso: GPS works well for things like navigation, but it’s nowhere near precise enough for AR. In the best conditions, GPS has an accuracy of 4–6 meters outdoors, and indoors, it doesn’t work at all. That’s fine for Pokémon GO, where objects don’t need to be placed precisely, but it won’t work for things like AR advertising, digital signage, or interactive experiences that need to align with the real world. VPS, on the other hand, can achieve centimeter-level accuracy because it matches what the camera sees with a 3D map of the environment. This makes it possible to create experiences that feel truly anchored to the real world.
How does OVER’s approach compare to Google and Niantic’s mapping efforts?
Diego Di Tommaso: Google is mapping the world primarily for navigation, not AR. Their data is collected by cars with 360-degree cameras, so it’s dense in cities but sparse elsewhere. Niantic is also building a 3D map, but their data comes from people playing Pokémon GO, so the quality varies. In contrast, OVER is designed specifically for AR. Our maps are created with thousands of images per location, making them much more detailed than what Google collects from a passing car. Our goal isn’t just to know where things are—it’s to create a framework where AR content can exist in real-world spaces with perfect alignment.
What kind of AR experiences can be built using OVER?
Diego Di Tommaso: We’ve seen some surprising applications. One user built an AR interface to control smart home appliances. Others are reconstructing historical sites in AR, showing how ancient buildings used to look. There’s even someone creating an interactive AR comic book! In retail, brands have used OVER to create virtual storefronts. The possibilities are endless, and our tools make it easy for creators to experiment.
What tools does OVER provide for creators?
Diego Di Tommaso: We offer two main tools: a visual editor that works in the browser for drag-and-drop experiences, and a Unity SDK for developers who need more control. If you’re building with Unity, you can deploy AR experiences directly onto our VPS-enabled maps. We’re also working on a white-label solution for companies that want to use OVER’s technology without dealing with blockchain complexity.
How do digital land ownership and AR experiences connect?
Diego Di Tommaso: We don’t see our digital locations as just “land”—we call them “spatial domains.” Just like you need a domain name to host a website, you need a spatial domain to publish AR content in a physical space. Over 870,000 locations have been purchased by our users, and we use that data to prioritize which areas should be mapped. In the future, we want this system to be decentralized, so no single company controls what can be published in AR.
How will OVER evolve as AR glasses become mainstream?
Diego Di Tommaso: We believe that AR glasses will be a game-changer. Right now, AR is limited by the fact that people have to hold up their phones. Once lightweight, high-quality AR glasses become mainstream, we’ll see an explosion in AR content. Our goal is to be the leading platform for publishing spatial experiences in that future. The web had multiple competing platforms, and we think the AR world will too—OVER will be one of them, built on a decentralized, user-owned foundation.
Final thoughts?
Diego Di Tommaso: We’re still in the early days of spatial computing, but the pieces are coming together quickly. The biggest challenge is mapping the world, and we’ve found a way to do it at scale while rewarding the people who contribute. As AR devices improve, the need for an open, decentralized spatial web will become more obvious. That’s what we’re building at OVER, and we’re excited to see how creators push this technology forward!
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The idea's getting closer to reality.
In 2011, Intel decided to enter the smartphone space. Someone had the idea to differentiate an Intel phone with context awareness and pinged me.
Good idea, nice people. I talked about incrementing context features--assuming big hardware improvements.
For market traction, I told a dev they should offer what became the OVER/Niantic plan, with a focus on indoors. Buyers of Intel's smartphone did photos for mapping to pay for their phones, then keep mapping for revenue.
Aside from low CPU power in 2011, Intel wasn't & isn't capable of doing a competitive phone, nor implementing such a consumer-focused functionality. So they sold a processor to some phone mfrs, requiring the Intel Inside label. Don’t know if there was anything more in the mix.