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SnapchatwillleadtheAugmentedRealityrevolution

Thewildlypopularsocialmedia/cameracompanyalreadyhasmostofthenecessarypieces
tobringaugmentedrealitytothemasseswiththehelpoftheyoungergenerationsthatare
constantlyusingtheirapplications.

KeyPoints

Userbase
SnapchatsARHistory
Overlays
Geofilters
Lenses
3DStickers
Acquisitions
VergenceLabs
Looksery
Seene

PublicSpotting
EngineeringandResearchTalent
Patent
Forecasts
Conclusion


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Userbase

CurrentestimatesputSnapchatsuserbasearound
150million
daily
activeusersupfrom110min
December2015.Thismakesthemmorepopular
thanTwitter,inregardstodailyusage.[
1
,
2
]
ComparedtoFacebook,Snapchathasmorevideo
viewsperday(~10billion)despiteadrastically
smalleruserbase.[
3
,
4
,
5
,
6
]

Theirmainaudienceisbetween13and24,whoare
theprimarypeoplethatwillmostlikelybeearly
adoptersofARwhenthetechnologyfinallycomesto
fruition.[
7
]


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SnapchatsARHistory

Prettymuchfromthebeginning,Snapchathasbeenaddingaugmentedrealityfeatures.Among
theearliestcapabilitieswas
overlays
thatinvolveddrawingoverpicturestodecoratethem.

Inadditiontodrawingoverphotos,userscanalsoadd
Geofilters
thatshowinformationlinkedto
apersonsphysicallocation.Thisincludeditemsliketemperature,speed,illustrations...etc

OneofthemorepopularadditionstotheSnapchatappsisthenew
Lenses
feature.Thisallows
peopletotrackpeoplesfacesbymanuallyselectingthemthroughthecamerawiththe
touchscreen.Sponsoredlensesareaddedtotheappeveryday,thusincreasingtheirrevenue.


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FurtherexperimentationinthesamelineasLensesistherecentupdateof
3DStickers
.This
givesuserstheoptiontotrackanyobjectinavideo,ratherthanjustfaces.

Acquisitions

Overthelastfewyears,Snapchathassecretlyacquiredacoupleofcompaniestointegrate
featuresintotheirapp.Theinformationhasmostlyonlysurfacedthroughleakedemailsand
hacks,meaningthatSnapchatistryingtokeepquietabouttheirARplans.

VergenceLabs

Thiscompanystartedin2011.Accordingtotheircrunchbasepage,theirgoalwasto
reinvent
thefutureofthehumancomputerparadigmwithstylishwearablecomputing,computervision,
computergraphics,biometrics,learningalgorithms,andthewebtoenhancehumanityand
redefinereality.
[
8
]Theyraisedover$70KthroughIndiegogo,[
9
]andthenwereacquiredby
Snapchatlate2014for$15million.[
10
]


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TheprimaryproductthatSnapchatwasmostlikelyinterestedinwasVergenceLabsEpiphany
Eyewear.ThesewerestylishglassesthatlaythefoundationforanARproductproducedby
Snapchat.InorderforARtotakeoffintothemainstream,theglasseshavetobefashionable
andsexy.Currently,theARmarketisfloodedwithclunkydevices.EpiphanyEyewear,onthe
otherhand,actuallylookslikesomethingthatthepublicwouldwearonaregularbasis.

ThemainproblemwiththeEpiphanyEyewearglassesthoughisthatwhentheywereoriginally
released,therewasnoARfunctionalitiesinit.Instead,theyfocusedonvideo/photocapturewith
theabilitytotransmitdatawirelesslyviaWiFi.[
11
]ItwasbynomeansastandaloneARdevice.

InordertounderstandwhereSnapchatcouldbegoingthough,divingintoVergenceLabsearly
experimentationsisamust.AvideopostedonFeb13,2012,byErickMiller,VergenceLabs
CEO,showsthevisionofaugmentedrealityglasseswithaworkingprototype.[
12
]The
technologywasdevelopedbyJonRodriguezduringhisstudiesatStanfordUniversity.

WhatwasshownessentiallylookslikeaVirtualRealityheadset.Itwastheculminationof
researchanddevelopmentofahyperrealistic3DdisplayinventedbyJonRodriguezduringhis
ComputerScienceHonorsThesis.AsummaryofhisworkisdocumentedinPDFform.[
13
]
Interestingly,Rodriguezwasexperimentingwitheyetrackinginadditiontosolvingmajor
technicalproblemsatthetime.Thateyetrackingabilitycouldprovideusefulinformationinan
ARheadset.

TheresultingwirelessARdevicewasbuiltoffofAndroidandutilizedapassthroughcamerato
sendvideosignalstotwodisplaysinsidethewearable.Itincludedfacialrecognitionthrough
computervisiontechnology.Thenthesoftwarecoulddetectwhothepersoninfrontwasby
integratingwithFacebookAPIs.Furthermore,ErickMilleralsotalksaboutpotentiallyintegrating
biometricsensorsovertime.


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Divingbackevenfurther,avideobyJonRodriguezuploadedtoYoutubein2011depictsa
smallerpairofARglasses.[
14
]Itwasawiredprototypethatsentvideofeedsfromthecamerato
alaptopandthenbacktotheheadset.Thesoftwarecouldthendetectedgesofobjects,
producingpsychedelicoutlines.Anothervideoshowsmoreexperimentationofa3rd
prototype.[
15
]


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Intheyearsfollowing,JonRodriguezbeganexperimentingwithwaystochangetheleveloftint
onthelenses.Inaquotethat
surfacedontoanewslettercalledVisionMonday
,Rodriguez
describeswhathewasworkingonatthetime.

We'remarketingthisasasunglass,"hesaid,addingthatthelensprovides18percentlight
transmissionwhendarkened."We'reworkingongettingthetransparencyup,andhavefigured
outawaytomakethelensgototallyclear.We'veprovenitinthelab,butweneedtocreatea
manufacturingprocessforit.

On
anotherobscurewebsite
,theglassesarestatedtocontainlayersthatprotecttheuserfrom
ultravioletrays.Withadditionalsafetyinmind,thedevicescouldblockdangerouspolarized
reflections.Furthermore,theyhadantireflectivecoatingandaspecialconductivelayerthat
allowedforelectricallyactivatedsunglasses.Bypushingabutton,wearerscouldinstantlytoggle
thesunglasslensdarknessonandoff.

AnonlinenewswebsitecalledGizmag,
talksabouttheelectricpoweredsunglasses
asutilizing
"chromaticshiftingconductiveglass"toenablethelensestobelightenedordarkenedwiththe
pressofabutton.Additionalinformationcanbefoundon
SingularityHub.com
.

Thehistoryofthisstartedbackacoupleyearspriortothisthough.It
beganwithsoftwarecalledVoxelVision,whichhad
asuccessful
Kickstartercampaign
thatraisedover$5000.Afterthegoalwas
reached,theypurchasedapairofwearablevirtualrealityglasses
theVuzixWrap1200VR.Also,theygotanElectroencephalograph
(tohelpdetectthedistancetheuseristryingtofocusto):theEmotiv
DeveloperEditionSDKandHeadset.

Theresultswerebuildintoahandfulofprototypes,includingone
documentedonYoutube
thatshowsademoofaMatrixCodeRain
effect.
Anotherversion
isshownonlineaswell,whicheventuallyturnedinto
aKickstarter
project
.


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AnotherexampleofthetypesofARglassesthatSnapchatcouldproducecomesfromVergence
LabsProductDesignerDavidMeisenholder.HedesignedtheGL20Polaroidvideoglasses
thatwasmarketedwithLadyGagain2011.[
20
]

Looksery

Accordingtotheirwebsite,thiscompanywasfoundedin2013and
isaSanFranciscoBay
Areacompanythatspecializesinfacialtrackingandmodificationtechnologiesforrealtime
videocommunication.
[
21
]

ThroughaKickstarter,Lookseryraised$46,152tobringtheproducttolife.[
22
]Late2015,
Snapchatacquiredthefirmforareported$150million.[
23
]Thistechnologywasthenintegrated
intoSnapchatsappandlabeledasLenses.

Inasense,thesefeaturesareallowingpeopletoaugmentthemselvesashowtheywant.Ona
philosophicallevel,thisistappingintotheideathatthroughARpeoplecandefinethemselves
withthesekindoffilters.Iftheywanttobeananimal,theycansharewiththeirfriendswhatthat
wouldlooklike.Orperhapstheywanttoshowanewhairdo,orasuperpower,oranewtypeof
eyes.Allthisispossiblewiththistypeofsoftware.


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Itisessentiallygivingpeopletheoptionstolookinwardsandtodefinewhattheywantto
become.

Seene
Asmentionedontheirwebsite,Seene
hasdevelopedaportfolioofadvancedcomputervision
technologiesdesignedfromthegroundupforuseonmobiledevicesinrealtimeapplications.
[They]enablethesedevicestolocatethemselvesinspace,mapvisualenvironments,and
recreatein3Dwhatisseenthroughthecamera,turningastandardsmartphoneintoa3D
scannerwithouttheuseofadditionalhardwareoroffdeviceprocessing.
[
24
]

Sometimein2016,SeenewasacquiredbySnapchatforanundisclosedamount.[
25
]

AvideouploadedtoYoutubein2015showssomeofthecapabilitiesoftheirplatform.For
instance,usingjustanRGBcamerainaphoneortablet,thesoftwarecancreatestunning
visualanimations.[
26
]Swirlsofcolorsandsparklescanfloataroundobjects.Legocharacters
cantalktotheuser,andthisjustshowsaglimpseintowhatispossible.Withtechnologylike
this,thecreativepotentialisendless.


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PublicSpotting

OnJune17,2016,BusinessInsiderrevealedthat
Snapchat'sCEOworethecompany's
secretcamerasunglassesinpublic
andnobodynoticed.Theymentionthat
EvanSpiegel
waspicturedwearingaverydifferentpairofsunglassesfromhisusualoneswhileonvacation
inCorsicawithhisgirlfriend,themodelMirandaKerr.

ComparedwithSpiegel'snormalaviatorstyle,the
sunglassesphotographedinAugust[2015]appearto
havethickerframesandtheattachedcameras.They're
similartobutaren'texactlyclonesoftheglassesmade
byVergenceLabs,acompanySnapchatacquiredin
2014.

Onecanspeculatethatthoseglassesseeninthe
paparazzipictureshaveatleasttheabilitytochange
theleveloftintonthelenses.Thecamerasonthe
framesdepictaversionthatcansnapphotos.

Itisuncleariftheglassesareastandaloneheadsetoriftheyconnecttoacellphonewirelessly.
BasedontheengineeringhistoryofVergenceLabs,thelatterismostlikely.Itisalsonotknowif
theglasseshaveanyaugmentedrealityfeaturesinvolved.But,lookingintothepast,eventothe
timeofVoxelVision,theengineeringtalentatSnapchatlooksliketheyarecapableofadding
thinscreenstotheinsideofglasses.

Inthepast,JonRodriguezimplementedasimilarfeaturebefore(althoughthecamerawasthe
biggestpartofapreviousiteration).Aslongastheyhavebeenabletoreducethecomponents,
itisplausiblethattheglassesseenonEvanSpiegelsfaceincludesomekindofoverlayAR
features.


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EngineeringandResearchTalent

Overthelastcoupleyears,Snapchathasbeensnatchingupatonoftalent.Severalpeople
haveworkedforotherhighprofilecompanies,makingthemovetothemoreforwardthinking
companyofSnapchat.AkeydivisionwithinthecompanyistheirSnapLab.

OneofthepeoplewhomadethetransitiontoSnapchatis
GarethGriffiths
,Ph.D.Heusedto
workatOculusastheirUserResearchLeadandisnowtheHeadofUserResearchat
Snapchat.[
27
]

MicrosoftsHololensRecruiter,
MarkDixon
,nowworksforSnapchattoo.[
28
]
Hisprofilementionsthatheloves
buildingteamsthatarepassionate,driven
andobsessedwithbringingnewandexcitingproductstomarket.Beingableto
helpbuildateamcreatinganewproductnotyetseenbythepublic'seyeis
what[hes]about,andwhatexcitesmeaboutbeingintechrecruiting.

VPEngineeringforQualcommontheVuforiateamlefttojoinSnapchatin
January2016.Hisnameis
EitanPilipski
andisSnapchatsnewEngineering
Director.[
29
]Hisspecialitiesinclude:computervision,augmentedreality,
virtualreality,facialrecognition,gestures,wearable,HMD,profiling,analytics,
andcloudrecognition.

FromVergenceLabs,
JonRodriguez
hasbecomeSnapchatsSystem
Architect.[
30
]BecauseofhispreviousARwork,itcanbeconcludedthatheis
workingclosewiththeR&Dteamswithinthecompany.Ifanyofhis
experimentsfromVergenceLabsandStanfordarebeingused,theAugmented
Realitycommunityisinforatreat.

AnotherpersonnowatSnapchatis
LaurynMorris
whoisoneoftheir
designers.Shehasdesignedeyewearsolutionsforpeople/companies
including:MarchonEyewear,MichaelKors,Innovega,andZacPosen.[
31
]
LaurynMorrishasalsodesignedconceptualandmanufacturedhousewares,
smallappliances,furniture,eyewear,jewelryandconsumerelectronics.Her
websitelistssomeoftheglassesshehasdesigned.[
32
]Amongthoseisapair
ofARglassescalledInnovegaiOptikthatworkswith
customcontactlenses
.[
33
]


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XuehanXiong
isSnapchatsResearchScientist.HisLinkedinprofilesaysthat
hisresearchinterestsinclude
computervisionandmachinelearning.[He]has
beeninvolvedinthefollowingtopics:facialalignment,eyegazetracking,driver
monitoringsystem,pointcloudclassification,3Dsceneanalysis,building
informationmodeling.
[
34
]

HeadofResearchatSnapchatis
JiaLi
,whousedtoworkforYahooastheir
GroupLeadandReseachScientistoftheVisualComputingandLearning.Jia
Lireceivedthe2014MasterInventorAward.Thiswasgivenforthecontribution
ofinnovationinComputerVision,MachineLearning,ECommerce,Product
RecommendationandImageSearch.ShewasalsoaResearchInternat
Googlein2007.[
35
]

VentureBeatreportedin2015that
WenzeHu
joinedSnapchatasaResearch
Scientistaswell.[
36
]WenzeHuwasaGraduateStudentResearcheratUCLA
attheCenterforImageandVisionSciencestartingin2009.Hebecamea
PostdoctoralReseasrcherin2012andthenjoinedGooglein2013.[
37
]Heis
skilledinpatternrecognitionaswell.

RogerJieLuo
isanotherResearchScientistatSnapchat.HisLinkedinprofile
saysthatheleadstheR&Deffortsofmultiplediscover,recommendationand
searchproducts.Hisspecialitiesinclude
machinelearning,datamining,
artificialintelligence,artificialperception(visualrecognitionsystems),
informationretrieval,searchengineoptimization(SEO),software
engineering.
[
38
]

DavidMeisenholder
whowasaDesigneratVergenceLabsisnowaProduct
DesignerforSnapchat.HisLinkedinprofiledoesntsaymuch,butheworkedon
theGL20Polaroidvideoglassesmentionedabove.[
39
]Hisportfoliopage
describesthatthe
GL20glassescantakepicturesandvideoanddisplaythem
ontwosmallOLEDsandrunforupto6hours.Fittingtheelectronicsto
accomplishthisinapackagedesignedtofitcomfortablyonthefacewasnota
trivialchallenge.
[
40
]

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NingZhang
isyetanotherResearchScientistatSnapchat.ShehasaPh.D.in
ComputerSciencefromUCBerkeley,andaB.SinComputerSciencefrom
TsinghuaUniversity,China.[
41
]HerroleaSnapchatinvolvesconducting
computervisionanddeeplearningresearch.NingZhangusedtobea
ResearchInternatFacebookandhasinterestsinArtificialIntelligencetoo.

LinjieLuo
isaResearchScientistwhousedtoworkatDisneyandMicrosoft.
Hespecializesin3Dreconstruction3DprintingGeometryprocessing.He
obtainedmyPhDintheDepartmentofComputerScience,Princeton
University,advisedbyProf.SzymonRusinkiewicz.[
42
]Healsoprovided
highqualityphysicallybasedsmokesimulationforSIGGRAPHprojectswhile
atMicrosoft.

AnotherofthekeyplayersinthesoftwareengineeringatSnapchatlookstobe
YunchaoGong
whospecializesinmachinelearning,computervision,and
deeplearningandhehasbeenworkingonrelatedfieldsformorethan10
years.[
43
]HealsousedtoworkatFacebook,Google,andMicrosoftoverhis
career.GongdoeslargescalevideoencodingpipelineatSnapchatnowwhich
couldbeusefulintheARarchitecturethatisbeingbuilt.

RongYan
istheEngineeringDirectoratSnapchatwhostartedworkingforthecompanylate
2014.Hisgroupmakesthecameraapplicationbetterandsmarterwiththestateoftheart
mobile/CV/AItechnology.[
44
]OtherpeopleonthesoftwaresideincludeXiaoyuWang,
JianchaoYang,andJiayuanMa(amongothers).

Snapchatobviouslyhasatonofsoftwaretalent,anditwillbeinterestingtoseewhoelsethey
willbringinonthehardwareside.GrantedthetechnologycurrentlybeingusedintheARmarket
isessentiallymadeupofcellphoneparts,butaddingmorecomputervisioncameras...etcwill
requirebetterbatteryusageandfasterprocessors.Batterytechnologywillbecriticalinbuilding
alonglastingARdevice,whichwillprobablybedevelopedelsewhere.Theymightneedagood
radioengineertobroadcastsignalstoexternaldevicesiftheywanttoaddcontrollerstoo.

ItisalsounclearhowSnapchatwoulddisplayinformationtotheusers.Whetherthatwillbe
relatedtousingscreenswithapassthroughcamera,likeasleekerVRheadset,usingreflection
technology,oriftheywillbeamlightdirectlyintotheuserseyes.Eitherway,Snapchatwillhave
tobuildthatteamoutmore.Theopticswillbebyfaroneofthemostimportant(ifnot
the
most
important)partofthepotentialdevicetheyareworkingon.

Theyhavetheresearchersanddesignersalreadyinplace,nowtheyneedtogetthehardware
engineersonboardiftheyaregoingtodevelopapairofARglasses.Becauseofthis,theyare


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currentlysearchingforaComputerVisionEngineeranda3DComputerVisionEngineer.
[
45
,
46
]

Patents

Snapchathasappliedforseveralpatents.Althoughnoneofthedirectlyrelatetoaugmented
reality,acoupleofthemcouldbecomeusefuliftheyeventuallyreleaseanARheadset.Mostof
themcenteraroundaccessingcontentbasedongeographicallocations.

ImagineapersonwearinganARheadset.Iftheywalkthroughaschool,park,house,oranother
placewheretheirfriendsandfamilyfrequentlyvisits,theycouldessentiallyreceivephoto/video
messagesplacedinspecificareas.Thoseimageswouldappear,play,andthendisappearin
typicalSnapchatfashion.

Thefollowingpatentscouldallowthistohappen:

Prioritybasedplacementofmessagesinageolocationbasedeventgallery[
47
]

Acomputerimplementedmethodincludescreatinganeventgalleryassociatedwithaneventusingmessages
receivedfromdeviceslocatedwithinageolocationfence.Themessagesarescannedtoidentifyaspecific
brandinamessage.Anendorsementofthemessageisreceivedfromanownerofthespecificbrand.In
responsetotheendorsement,theplacementofthemessageisprioritizedintheeventgallery.Theeventgallery
issuppliedinresponsetoarequestfromauser.

Userinterfaceforaccessingmediaatageographiclocation[
48
]

Asystemandmethodforaccessingamediaitemonamobiledevicearedescribed.Themobiledevice
includesamediaplacementapplicationandamediadisplayapplication.Themediaplacementapplication
receivesaselectionofamediaitemgeneratedbythemobiledevice.Themediaplacementapplication
generatesaccessconditionsforthemediaitembasedongeolocationandpositioninformationofthemobile
deviceassociatedwiththeselectedmediaitem.Themediadisplayapplicationmonitorsthegeolocationand
positionofthemobiledeviceanddetermineswhetherthegeolocationandpositionofthemobiledevicemeet
theaccessconditionsoftheselectedmediaitem.Themediadisplayapplicationgeneratesanotificationthatthe
selectedmediaitemisavailabletoviewinadisplayofthemobiledeviceinresponsetodeterminingthatthe
geolocationandpositionofthemobiledevicemeettheaccessconditionsoftheselectedmediaitem.

Deviceandmethodforphotoandvideocapture[
49
]

Asingleuserinputelementinanimagecapturedeviceisusedforbothphotoandvideocapture.Basedona
firstuserinterfaceactivity,atimingreferenceisengagedatafirstreferencetime.Inafirstcase,photocapture
isperformed.Inthefirstcase,asecondreferencetimeisbasedonaseconduserinterfaceactivity,andthe
timingreferenceindicatesapassageoftimebetweenthetworeferencetimesisshorterthanaparticulartime
interval.Inasecondcase,videocaptureisperformed.Inthesecondcase,thetimingreferenceindicatesa
passageoftimesincethefirstreferencetimeisequaltoorlongerthantheparticulartimeinterval.Video
captureisstoppedbasedonasubsequentuserinterfaceactivity.Theuserinterfaceactivitiesmaycomprise
detectingactionsbasedonthesametypeofphysicalmanipulationofthesingleuserinput.

GeoLocationBasedEventGallery[
50
]

Acomputerimplementedmethodmayincludereceivinggeolocationdatafromadeviceofausercomparing
thegeolocationdatawithageolocationfenceassociatedwithaneventdeterminingthatthegeolocationdata
correspondstothegeolocationfenceassociatedwiththeeventresponsivetothedeterminingthatthe
geolocationdatacorrespondstothegeolocationfenceassociatedwiththeevent,supplyinguserselectable


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eventgalleryinformation,associatedwithaneventgalleryoftheevent,tothedeviceforadditiontoa
destinationlistonthedevicedetectingselectionoftheuserselectableeventgalleryinformationinthe
destinationlistbytheuserofthedeviceand/orresponsivetothedetectingoftheselectionofthe
userselectableeventgalleryinformationbytheuserofthedevice,addingtheuserasafolloweroftheevent,
withaccesstotheeventgallery.

UserInterfacetoAugmentanImage[
51
]

Asystemandmethodforamediafilterpublicationapplicationaredescribed.Themediafilterpublication
applicationreceivesacontentitemandaselectedgeolocation,generatesamediafilterbasedonthecontent
itemandtheselectedgeolocation,andsuppliesthemediafiltertoaclientdevicelocatedattheselected
geolocation.

GeolocationBasedPictographs[
52
]

Asystemandmethodforgeolocationbasedpictographsareprovided.Inexampleembodiments,acurrent
geolocationofauserdeviceisdetermined.Apictographisidentifiedbasedonthecurrentgeolocationofthe
userdevice.Theidentifiedpictographispresentedonauserinterfaceoftheuserdevice.

LookseryalsohasafewpatentsthatcouldbeusefulinanAugmentedRealityscenario.Itis
assumedthatwhenSnapchatacquiredthecompany,the$150millionspentincludesthe
acquisitionofthosepatentsaswell.

EmotionRecognitioninVideoConferencing[
53
]

Methodsandsystemsforvideoconferencingincluderecognitionofemotionsrelatedtoonevideoconference
participantsuchasacustomer.Thisultimatelyenablesanothervideoconferenceparticipant,suchasaservice
providerorsupervisor,tohandleangry,annoyed,ordistressedcustomers.Oneexamplemethodincludesthe
stepsofreceivingavideothatincludesasequenceofimages,detectingatleastoneobjectofinterest(e.g.,a
face),locatingfeaturereferencepointsoftheatleastoneobjectofinterest,aligningavirtualfacemeshtotheat
leastoneobjectofinterestbasedonthefeaturereferencepoints,findingoverthesequenceofimagesatleast
onedeformationofthevirtualfacemeshthatreflectfacemimics,determiningthattheatleastonedeformation
referstoafacialemotionselectedfromapluralityofreferencefacialemotions,andgeneratingacommunication
bearingdataassociatedwiththefacialemotion.

BackgroundModificationinVideoConferencing[
54
]

Methodsandsystemsforrealtimevideoprocessingcanbeusedinvideoconferencingtomodifyimagequality
ofbackground.Oneexamplemethodincludesthestepsofreceivingavideoincludingasequenceofimages,
identifyingatleastoneobjectofinterest(e.g.,aface)inoneormoreoftheimages,detectingfeaturereference
pointsoftheatleastoneobjectofinterest,andtrackingtheatleastoneobjectofinterestinthevideo.The
trackingmaycomprisealigningavirtualfacemeshtotheatleastoneobjectofinterestinoneormoreofthe
images.Further,abackgroundisidentifiedintheimagesbyseparatingtheatleastoneobjectofinterestfrom
eachimagebasedonthevirtualfacemesh.Thebackgroundisthenmodifiedineachoftheimagesbyblurring,
changingaresolution,colors,orotherparameters.


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Forecasts
Lookingtowardsthefuture,Snapchatwillcontinuetointegrateinnovativefeaturesintotheir
smartphoneapplications.Thatswhattheyhavebeendoingsincetheirinception,anditmakes
sensetokeepthetrendgoing.Forinstance,nowthattheyhaveacquiredSeene,3Dcapture
andsharingislikelytobeaddedsoon.Howlongthatwilltakeisstillyettobedetermined.

Inregardsto
VirtualReality
,itseemunlikelythattheywill
developVRcapabilities.However,Seenedoesalready
allowforGoogleCardboardsupport,sothatcouldhappen.

360photosandvideosisanotherareathatcouldbe
experimentedwith,butthereareproblemsrelatedto
makingthathappen.Forone,thereisnoreallygoodwayto
capturepanoramaswithjustaphoneyet.Connectingto
deviceslikeaRicohThetaorSamsungGear360Cam
wouldmeanpartnershipswiththosecompanies,and
Snapchattendstocreatestuffinhouseorthrough
acquisitions.

Withthatinmind,itwouldbeeasytoadd360videoplaybackintheappallowingforusersto
scrollthroughwiththeirfingers(orpotentiallyinaheadset).Still,theproblemliesinrecording
those360degreeimagesandvideos.Creatingtheirown360camerawouldbeawasteoftime
butitisfuntoimagineoverlayingobjectsina360degreevideobyfeedingthemthrough
Snapchatssoftware.

ThereasonitwouldntmakesenseforSnapchattofocusonVRisbecausethatindustryisstill
inthehereandnowphase.Snapchatismoreforwardthinkingthanthat.SomeVRfeatures
couldbeintegratedovertime,sure.ButifSnapchatisgoingtocontinuetoalterthewaysociety
interactswitheachother,focusingtheirattentionontheAugmentedRealitysectorisabetter
wayforward.

Becauseoftheiracquisitions,startingwithVergenceLabs,researchanddevelopmentwithin
SnapchatonanARheadsetisalmostguaranteed.Theyhavethesoftwaretalentandthatwill
keepshowingupintheapps.Yet,inorderforthemtocreatetheultimateARheadset,they
needtobuckledownonthehardware.

Snapchathasalreadybegunaddingmorehardware
peopleonboard.JonRodriguezisoneofthepeopleto
keepwatchingclosely.HehasalreadyprototypedAR
headsetsovertheyears,sobuildingouttheteamtowork
withhimisgoinghappen.MarkDixon,
PaulSledd
,and
TimothySehn,willprobablyhelpwiththat.[
55
]


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ItisexpectedthatSnapchatwillalsokeepsecretlyacquiringtalentratherthanpublically
announcinganything.Thisisbecausetheydontwanttoconfusetheirusersbymentioningan
ARheadsetsoearlyon.Rather,itisbettertokeepquietuntiltheyareready,andthentheywill
releasetheirvisionaccordingly.

Conclusion
SnapchatisprimedtobringARintothemainstreamconsciousness.Theyhavealreadybegun
trainingtheiruserbasetouseaugmentedrealitycapabilities.Currently,thosefeaturesare
stuckinsideaphone.However,theyhavethetalenttobringitallintoastandaloneARheadset.
ThatdevicewillmostlikelybebuiltonAndroidorWindows,unlesstheydecidetodeveloptheir
ownoperatingsystem.iOSistoofarbehind.Itwillalsoneedtoconnecttocellphonetowers
too.

Withthatinmind,therearestillquiteafewchallengesthattheyneedtoovercome.Evenifthey
areabletoproduceaspectacularlysexyheadsetprototype,themanufacturingofthosedevices
isgoingtobeahugeobstacle.Yet,theycanlearnfromthevirtualrealityindustryinthat
regards.

Iftheyfocusonthehardwareandgetsomethingreadyformarketthough,theywillbethe
leadersintheindustry.Theyalreadyhavetheuserbaseneeded.Nowtheyjustneedthe
hardware.

ItcanbearguedthatFacebookssocialmediaplatformiswhytheworldhasmobilephonesis
justabouteveryonespockets.FacebooksacquisitionofOculusiscertainlywhyvirtualrealityis
goingmainstream.So,lookingatthosetrends,thenSnapchatwillbethereasoneveryonewill
havespectacularAugmentedRealityglassesontheirfacessharingcontentonadailybasis.

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