Manodhara
Social work AR
Industry
Augmented Reality
Client
Manodhara
Tools used
8th wall, Blender
Services
AR development
Manodhara, is a foundation that wanted to spread awareness among the students about AR/VR, they approached us with a challenge: they wanted to create an engaging augmented reality (AR) experience featuring a Pokemon card coming to life with intuitive controls and realistic world anchoring, but their existing solutions lacked seamless interaction and spatial integration. This outlines a technical project in Unity (a popular game engine) that creates an augmented reality (AR) experience using AR Foundation—a framework that simplifies AR development across multiple platforms.
The core of this project is the use of the 8th Wall WebAR engine, which enables the delivery of a sophisticated augmented reality experience directly through a standard mobile web browser. This approach fundamentally removes the primary barrier to entry for many users: the need to search for and download a dedicated application from an app store. By making the experience accessible via a simple web link, it ensures a frictionless and immediate engagement.
The user journey is engineered for maximum simplicity and speed. A user initiates the experience by scanning a QR code found on the Pokémon card or its packaging. This action instantly opens a link in their phone's default browser. After a one-time camera permission prompt, the AR experience launches within seconds, creating a "wow" moment with minimal delay and no complicated setup.
The user journey is engineered for maximum simplicity and speed. A user initiates the experience by scanning a QR code found on the Pokémon card or its packaging. This action instantly opens a link in their phone's default browser. After a one-time camera permission prompt, the AR experience launches within seconds, creating a "wow" moment with minimal delay and no complicated setup.
The technology creates a magical illusion by seamlessly blending the digital and physical worlds. This is achieved through "Image Target Recognition," where a digital copy of the card's artwork is used as a tracker. The 8th Wall engine scans the camera feed in real-time to find this specific pattern. Once recognized, it locks the 3D Pokémon model onto the card, ensuring that as the user moves, rotates, or tilts the physical card, the digital character remains perfectly anchored to its surface.
For any web-based experience to succeed, performance is critical. The 3D models, created in Blender, undergo a rigorous optimization process. This involves reducing polygon counts, compressing textures, and streamlining animations to ensure the assets are lightweight. This crucial step guarantees that the 3D Pokémon loads quickly and animates smoothly, even on mobile devices with limited processing power or slower network connections.
The experience goes beyond a static 3D model by incorporating interactive elements that bring the Pokémon to life. The character features idle animations, such as looking around or shifting its weight, so it never appears frozen. Furthermore, users can directly interact with it—for example, by tapping the screen to trigger a signature move like Charizard's "Flamethrower," which is accompanied by visual and sound effects to create a highly immersive and engaging experience.
