Circuit Builder

Build circuits in the real world, guided by AR

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🔗 Check it out

💡 Inspiration

Building circuits is intimidating. Beginners stare at a breadboard — a grid of tiny holes where wires and components connect to form circuits — and have no idea where to start. Misplaced wires, confusing diagrams, and the constant back-and-forth between a screen and a physical board makes learning frustrating.

Snap Spectacles are AR glasses that overlay digital information directly onto the real world. We realized they were the perfect tool to bridge that gap — guiding students exactly where to place each component, hands-free, right in their field of view.

⚡ What it does

Circuit Builder is an AR assistant using Snap Spectacles that sees your real breadboard and components, then guides you step-by-step. It highlights exactly where to place parts, explains what each component does, and lets you ask questions in real time using an AI assistant.

🔧 How we built it

The Spectacles app handles the AR experience using hand tracking and gesture controls. The companion site is built with Snap Lens Studio for Spectacles, Gemini, Next.js 15, Supabase for session storage, and Azure OpenAI to generate personalized explanations from the captured build data.

🚧 Challenges we ran into

Syncing real-time build state from the glasses to the web app reliably. Getting hand gesture recognition to feel natural and low-friction in a lab environment. Designing AR overlays that are clear without cluttering the physical workspace.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

A zero-controller AR experience that a first-time student can pick up in under a minute. The pinch-to-select and wrist-up navigation feel genuinely intuitive. The explanation engine turns raw build data into something that actually teaches.

🧠 What we learned

AR works best when it disappears — the best moments were when students stopped noticing the glasses and just started building. Gesture design is hard to get right on paper; it needs to be felt.

🚀 What's next for Circuit Builder

Circuits are just the beginning. We want Circuit Builder AR to become the hands-on learning layer for all of STEM — from breadboards to PCB design, mechanical assemblies to robotics. The goal is a library deep enough that a student can go from their first LED to a fully functional robot, guided every step of the way. We also want to create a mobile app so any student with a phone can access Circuit Builder — no AR glasses required.

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