ASTRA

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  Welcome screen

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  Clothing options in bubbles around user

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  Clothing options around user

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  Clothing added to wishlist

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  Clothing tried on by avatar

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  Clothing on user avatar

Inspiration

Astra was inspired by the transformative potential of Mixed Reality (MR) to address the shortcomings of traditional e-commerce. We set out to solve common issues such as the inability to try before buying and the overwhelming choice that leads to high return rates. Our goal was to create a more tactile, engaging shopping experience that mimics in-store interactions but within the convenience of the consumer's home.

What it does

Astra enhances online shopping by integrating MR into the e-commerce landscape. Through our platform, users can discover and try on digital clothing in a virtual environment overlaid on their actual living space, using Meta's Passthrough and Movement SDKs. This approach goes beyond simple visualization, offering a gamified, interactive try-on experience that enhances user satisfaction and promotes sustainable fashion consumption.

How we built it

We developed Astra entirely using Unreal Engine 5.3 on Windows, focusing on adapting a PCVR experience to run seamlessly on the Meta Quest headset. Our integration of the Meta XR SDK was crucial, allowing us to leverage its full capabilities to create a rich, interactive MR environment for fashion discovery.

Challenges we ran into

Adapting high-quality PCVR experiences to a standalone MR device posed significant challenges, including optimizing performance and packaging the application for the Quest headset, where we frequently encountered unknown errors. Manual adjustments were necessary for avatar height offsets, hand rotations, and outfit placements, requiring constant toggling between VR preview and editor modes. Designing a clear and uncluttered user interface that facilitates easy fashion discovery also presented hurdles.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of our success in creating an MR shopping experience that effectively bridges the gap between digital convenience and the physical try-on experience bringing more utility to the experience that won first place last year. Astra enhances consumer engagement by allowing users to interact with fashion in a deeply immersive way. The platform not only improves user satisfaction but also introduces a sustainable model that could significantly reduce the fashion industry's environmental impact.

What we learned

Throughout the development of Astra, we learned to integrate and maximize the Meta XR SDK's features, install the latest Android SDK, and manage other dependencies necessary for exporting to Android devices. These technical skills were essential in overcoming the challenges of MR development and have prepared us for future advancements in our project. We also learnt how to speed up the process of retopologising fashion designed with other software like Clo3D.

What's next for ASTRA

Looking ahead, Astra will expand its functionality to include avatar creation and profile customization, integrate a wallet system for easier transactions, and introduce a direct checkout feature. These enhancements will make our platform even more user-friendly and immersive, solidifying its position as a pioneering solution in the future of e-commerce. We are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what is possible in MR and e-commerce.# Inspiration

Built With

• blueprints
• c++