Spark AR

A screenshot of Spark AR Studio

At the start of the long weekend, I started learning how to use Spark AR Studio which is a free software that helps developers create augmented reality experiences for Facebook and Instagram. I started by watching a few YouTube video tutorials and tapped on some ready made templates. 

Some sample slides from the AR experience

 

I decided to leverage on the popular 'Quiz' format and prepared a little AR (Augmented Reality) experience (they call it 'Effects') for Instagram as part of COV-EID 2020. I crafted some images with stay-home-raya specific texts to remind those who play how to do their part by staying home and doing meaningful raya-related activities for Eid or Aidilfitri this year. Basically, users of the Insta Effect/Filter will then get a randomised message supposedly something specially meant for them to follow. I think this little AR experience, although meant to be light-hearted and fun, could be effective in engaging young minds on social media. Just by spreading through word of mouth I managed to get 1216 impressions although unfortunately not much shares. For those reading this, perhaps you can try the Instagram effect yourself (if you have an account) or share it with your Malay/Muslim friends who may be celebrating Aidilfitri/Hari Raya. Link to Insta Effect for COV-EID 2020 here: https://instagram.com/a/r/?effect_id=270892404315410 

FB version: https://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/tryit/3009265342514080

A screenshot of the SPARK AR Hub online with the effects/filters I submitted for review by FB

In the image above you'd notice that at the bottom there are 2 effects which I created while wearing my Maths educator hat. For a start, I thought that I could use AR to help students visualise revolving 3D figures in Instagram colours (the classic orange-purple gradient). I could not get nets of the 3D figures so I decided to work with the curved solids like spheres, cylinders and cones. For the FB version, I included a special bonus of a torus which would appear if you show your palm (like in a Hi-5). The links are below and I hope that you will try them or get your kids/students to try them too. There may be some compatibility issues as only mobile devices with a gyroscopes can use effects in world space.

Link to FB version with special hand tracking (Easter Egg alert: You can put your hand in front of the camera and it will show a torus, another curved 3D figure which is not exactly in the Secondary Mathematics Syllabus) : https://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/tryit/2645306362371297/

Link to Instagram version: https://instagram.com/a/r/?effect_id=2366714700288344

I will be improving on them and hopefully with more iterations and practice, I hope to use these platforms to reach to more students and perhaps make more social impact in the future.

One example of a meaningful use of the technology is by Eugene Soh (of Dude.sg) who created an effect (3 in fact in a series) to teach people how to sign simple ASL using their hands which can be tracked by the camera. Try his effect here @ https://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/tryit/229570588323452.

Got this SWAG from FB in the learning process too