Are we there yet

Hi! find your way!

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“Are we there yet?!” Our team We Will Take You There built an AR experience that guides you not just to an address but to the exact place your feet need to land, while telling you stories along the way.

Inspiration

This idea came from one simple truth:

Maps take you to the address, not to the actual place you need.

Real life is full of hidden micro-locations that digital maps cannot reach:

  • the exact Airbnb door inside a confusing building
  • the hallway that actually leads to Room 302
  • the small coffee shop tucked in an alley
  • the correct airport exit gate after customs
  • the place you parked your car
  • the basement where the first Google server exists (yes, it is in the Jen Hsun Huang Basement at Stanford)

We also thought about how parents guided us through new places when we were kids. And how tour guides tell stories as you walk.

So we asked ourselves:

What if navigation felt human and story-based? What if you could learn about a place while being guided through it?

That question became our rabbit hole.

What It Does

Using Snap Spectacles, you can record a walkable AR tour and turn it into a reusable path that anyone can follow later.

When someone replays the tour:

  • a hologram guide appears in front of them
  • dotted AR lines trace the exact route
  • callouts appear for instructions like "enter here" or "go up"
  • optional fun facts pop up as Easter eggs
  • users learn about the place while walking through it

Great For

  • museums and cultural institutions
  • universities and school campuses
  • historical locations
  • airports during transfers
  • concerts, stadiums and expo halls
  • cities with hidden local businesses
  • airbnbs and hotels
  • everyday life moments like finding your car

Our goal is to turn every walk into a small story.

How We Built It

AR Path Recording

We built a custom Lens in Lens Studio using:

  • Spectacles Interaction Kit
  • Custom Location Lens
  • World Anchors
  • Spatial Storage
  • UI scripting

As you walk, the glasses track your position and automatically drop waypoints. These waypoints store fun facts and navigation hints.

AR Playback

On replay:

  • a hologram guide floats ahead of the user
  • dotted lines rebuild the original path
  • the experience becomes a small guided journey

This creates a personal tour that feels natural and intuitive.

AI Insights and Future Plans

We want to build an AI system that can:

  • read airport maps, building layouts or Airbnb instructions
  • automatically generate indoor paths
  • create narration and story content
  • personalize tours based on age, interests or time available

This will allow the product to scale beyond manual recording.

Challenges

  • indoor tracking without GPS is difficult
  • keeping the hologram aligned on the recorded path
  • making the experience simple while still feeling magical
  • timing and pacing of AR elements
  • managing jitter and drift indoors

Accomplishments

  • built a working prototype that records and replays real walking paths
  • created a hologram guide that feels personal
  • combined navigation with storytelling and education
  • identified strong use cases in accessibility, tourism and travel
  • created a clear roadmap for future AI powered path creation
  • learned Lens Studio from scratch in 36 hours of hacking

What We Learned

  • navigation is emotional and people want reassurance
  • small storytelling moments make places feel meaningful
  • creators want a way to drop AR routes to hidden local spots
  • airports and large venues need better indoor guidance
  • clarity and pacing matter more than flashy AR objects

What’s Next

Short Term

  • add text to speech audio narration
  • improve fidelity for stairs, corners and elevation
  • allow voice notes, history, accessibility tips
  • save routes to the cloud
  • share routes with others
  • add accessibility modes including audio only

Long Term

  • local creators can publish city exploration routes
  • airport partnerships for cultural routes and gate navigation
  • hologram collectibles for each location
  • global exploration leaderboard
  • support for phones and future XR glasses

Why It Fits SensAI Tracks

Creative Zenith: turns navigation into storytelling Social Good: improves accessibility and reduces anxiety in unfamiliar places Best Use of AI: scales to thousands of routes with auto-generated guidance

We want navigation to feel natural, personal and fun. Getting lost should never feel stressful. It should feel like discovering a story you did not know was there.

Built With

  • lens
  • snap
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