Pokemon Go veterans have found similarities between Pokemon Go Spawn points and Open Street Map. This can help players predict and locate possible Pokemon Biomes, Nests and Spawn points.
Pokemon Go Spawn Points and Open Street Map
A Reddit user known only as Tr4sHCr4fT, posted his observation that Pokemon Go Spawn points could be located using the data from Open Street Map. He theorized that Niantic is making use of OSM's open source data to create the game's spawn points. He was able to project most of the Pokemon Spawn points using Open Street Map's Landuse feature.
What is Land Use?
Basically, this refers to places that have been modified by people. This includes human residences, parks, roads and agricultural lands.
Pokemon Go APK FeatureKind Similar to OSM Map Layers?
Data mining the game's APK revealed that FeatureKind and MapLayer data listing is similar to the features of OSM. The entire list can be found here. Niantic's use of open source map data can enable clever Pokemon Go players predict the spot and timing of Pokemon appearances. Although this is sound in theory, no one has come forward yet to authenticate it.
How Pokemon Spawn Point Data Was Taken From OSM
The Reddit poster said that he uses a script to scan and collect the presumed Pokemon Spawn points. He then exported the data as a CSV. He also use QGIS, specifically, the "Add Layer - Delimited Text" function to get analyzed the CSV data. More specific instructions are available in TheSilphRoad forum.
It is interesting to note that "rustling leaves" usually led Pokemon Go players to areas filled with trees or grasses. This also indicates that a biome can be found in parks, recreational areas or grasslands. Pokemon Go players will have better chance of spotting water type Pokemon in OSM than Google maps.
