Kanvas SDK AR Filters
Kanvas SDK is the implementation of Kanvas App’s camera features into a developer kit. One of the features is face and facial features tracking, on which I was the principal designer and the creator of the 3D mask. During this time, I’ve led a small team of designers to create various AR filters to showcase the capabilities of the SDK and help partner apps to implement it into their products. Some of the partner apps included ROLR, Phhhoto and Video Star.
Kanvas SDK originally uses the face tracking tech that is patented by Nito, a start-up animation tech company that I was a part of up until its acquisition by Aol in 2016. Kanvas SDK eventually reached 20 million monthly active users with multiple partnerships before it’s been put to pause.
Here's a TechCrunch link on Kanvas SDK.
Nito
Nito is the animation tech company that has the patented face and facial tracking tech Kanvas SDK used. Originally it began as an entertainment app mainly for children. Later in development, Nito partnered with multiple clients, such as Nickelodeon, Mattel and Swyft Media until its acquisition by Aol.
I was the lead 3D designer there, creating original characters for the Nito app, as well as helping clients to implement their cartoon characters into the tracking module.
Switch
Switch App is the first app Aol launched after acquiring Nito. The first year was mainly about integrating the face tracking tech into the live camera. As a principal designer, I was responsible to create the original 3D mask and come up with solutions to make the tracking module work. I also designed various AR filters, stickers and masks.
Eventually, the app got integrated into Kanvas SDK after less than 2 years, however during its short time, it had 100K active daily users and got featured on the App Store in the Best New Apps and Halloween FaceOff categories.
