First and Last Names
Manolis Tsotros

Link to Demo Video (YouTube or Vimeo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdJzteiV8kc

Briefly describe your project
An immersive experience that allows you to see and interact with virtual dinosaurs as you walk around a park. • Point to the entrance of your local park and you'll see the Grand Gate open for you to step into a world filled with dinosaurs. As you walk around, the app superimposes realistic-looking 3D models of dinosaurs onto the real-world scene, allowing you to see them as if they were actually there. • Beware! Some dinosaurs could be hostile when you get too close to them. • To make the experience more interactive and engaging, the app also allows you to take photos with your favorite dinosaur. • A unique and exciting way to explore the natural world, and a great way to learn about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures in a fun and interactive way.

How did you innovate on this product (VPS/ARDK features)?
Private scans were used as Wayspot anchors and were overlaid on top of real geometry. The scanned model used a material with a depth sorting shader and thus occluded real geometry. This way, the animals could be seen passing behind trees even when far away from the camera view. • Being a long-time developer of location-based services using GPS/GNSS, I find GNSS to be an expensive/cumbersome approach to get accurate positioning/localization (not to mention the spaces that are inaccessible by GPS). ARDK’s approach is based on the idea of searching through a SLAM map to find where you are in the coordinates of that map. Assuming this approach is centimeter-accurate (and will be further improved in the coming ARDK versions), I believe that the technique of overlaying meshes above real geometry can become one of VPS’s strongest selling points.

How did you use Remote Authoring or Maps Beta? (Optional)
The entire app was made in the Remote Authoring scene exclusively. Occlusion meshes were produced via the private scan process and they were positioned relative to the VPS-activated wayspot that would be used as intended for localization. With this setup, the ARDepthManager was not deemed necessary.

How does it speak to Niantic's mission? (Optional)
• This is a fun and interactive way to get off the couch and spend time outdoors. • This is a game that accurately portrays dinosaurs and encourages exploration. • The various dinosaur behaviors could be educational and provide players with new information about these creatures. • Many people have a deep love for dinosaurs and grew up with a fascination for these ancient animals. A game with dinosaurs taps into this nostalgia and provides a sense of excitement and wonder for players. • Dinosaurs are often seen as being cool and exciting, which could make a game featuring them highly enjoyable for players.

How complete is your project? (Optional)
All that is shown in the video works as expected. UI/UX, original music, sound fx, 3d models, are all there already. A better scan of the environment is required to improve occlusion results and test this together with the ARDepthManager for better dynamic results (currently, the combination of the two suffers from z-sorting issues). More gamification elements need to be added, as well as textual information about the animals to increase the game’s educational value. Lastly, more of these fascinating creatures should be included.