Vivien Kong

Vivien Kong

Vivien Kong

🗺️ Footprint — The Local AR Social Network for Geo-Posting

🗺️ Footprint — The Local AR Social Network for Geo-Posting

Product Strategy & Design

Creative Directing

Marketing

Video & Animation

UI/UX

3D Modeling & Prototyping

🚀 Selected as the top product and invested by SnapAR Lens Fund
🏆 Winner — MIT Reality Hack (Best Use of Spectacles)

📍 Piloted with cultural institutions and tourism groups

🌐 Inspired by projects like NavigatAR and Kinfolk, but centered on community-driven AR storytelling

Role

Product Designer · Creative Technologist · AR Prototyper

Tools
Lens Studio · Snap Spectacles · Niantic VPS · A-Frame · Blender · Firebase · Supabase · Google Maps API



Problem

Our digital memories are locked in feeds and clouds — disconnected from the real places where they happened.
We wanted to help people see cities through local eyes and reconnect stories with location, using AR as a bridge between physical and digital memory.


💡 Concept

Footprints is a spatial social platform that lets anyone record and leave AR trails in the real world — blending storytelling, exploration, and social connection.
Users can drop “footprints” (AR pins with media, voice, and 3D assets) and others can discover them while walking nearby.

" It’s a map-based, creator-first social network — where content lives where it happens.

🚀 Selected as the top product and invested by SnapAR Lens Fund
🏆 Winner — MIT Reality Hack (Best Use of Spectacles)

📍 Piloted with cultural institutions and tourism groups

🌐 Inspired by projects like NavigatAR and Kinfolk, but centered on community-driven AR storytelling

Role
Product Designer · Creative Technologist · AR Prototyper

Tools
Lens Studio · Snap Spectacles · Niantic VPS · A-Frame · Blender · Firebase · Supabase · Google Maps API



Problem

Our digital memories are locked in feeds and clouds — disconnected from the real places where they happened.
We wanted to help people see cities through local eyes and reconnect stories with location, using AR as a bridge between physical and digital memory.


💡 Concept

Footprints is a spatial social platform that lets anyone record and leave AR trails in the real world — blending storytelling, exploration, and social connection.
Users can drop “footprints” (AR pins with media, voice, and 3D assets) and others can discover them while walking nearby.

" It’s a map-based, creator-first social network — where content lives where it happens.

🚀 Selected as the top product and invested by SnapAR Lens Fund

🏆 Winner — MIT Reality Hack (Best Use of Spectacles)

📍 Piloted with cultural institutions and tourism groups

🌐 Inspired by projects like NavigatAR and Kinfolk, but centered on community-driven AR storytelling


Role
Product Designer · Creative Technologist · AR Prototyper


Tools
Lens Studio · Snap Spectacles · Niantic VPS · A-Frame · Blender · Firebase · Supabase · Google Maps API



Problem

Our digital memories are locked in feeds and clouds — disconnected from the real places where they happened.
We wanted to help people see cities through local eyes and reconnect stories with location, using AR as a bridge between physical and digital memory.


💡 Concept

Footprints is a spatial social platform that lets anyone record and leave AR trails in the real world — blending storytelling, exploration, and social connection.
Users can drop “footprints” (AR pins with media, voice, and 3D assets) and others can discover them while walking nearby.

" It’s a map-based, creator-first social network — where content lives where it happens.

Background

  • Footprints began as a 48-hour prototype at MIT Reality Hack 2025, winning Best Use of Spectacles for its seamless, hands-free AR creation.

  • The concept evolved into a full platform during the SnapAR Accelerator, earning investment and mentorship from Snap Inc.

Background

  • Footprints began as a 48-hour prototype at MIT Reality Hack 2025, winning Best Use of Spectacles for its seamless, hands-free AR creation.

  • The concept evolved into a full platform during the SnapAR Accelerator, earning investment and mentorship from Snap Inc.

Product Vision

  • To transform Footprints into a creator-driven AR network where:

    • Creators can easily make and share immersive AR journeys.

    • Explorers can discover authentic local experiences — food tours, art walks, or oral histories.

    • Each “footprint” acts as a living post that invites participation, connection, and cultural storytelling.


Product Vision

  • To transform Footprints into a creator-driven AR network where:

    • Creators can easily make and share immersive AR journeys.

    • Explorers can discover authentic local experiences — food tours, art walks, or oral histories.

    • Each “footprint” acts as a living post that invites participation, connection, and cultural storytelling.


Key Features

AR-First Creation

  • Voice and gesture commands (“Start recording,” “Add 3D object”)

  • Persistent spatial anchors for trails and comments

  • AR navigation guiding users to footprints


Multimodal Input & Context Awareness

  • Voice, gesture, and touch controls

  • Real-time map and compass overlays

  • GPS + camera mesh for location precision


Creator Mode

  • Add 3D models (from library or AI-generated)

  • Capture AR video and voice notes

  • Edit and share from mobile companion app


Safety & Curation

  • AI toxicity detection and location-based filtering

  • Relevance ranking using cosine similarity & EMA

  • Friend network and verified-creator prioritization

Key Features

AR-First Creation

  • Voice and gesture commands (“Start recording,” “Add 3D object”)

  • Persistent spatial anchors for trails and comments

  • AR navigation guiding users to footprints


Multimodal Input & Context Awareness

  • Voice, gesture, and touch controls

  • Real-time map and compass overlays

  • GPS + camera mesh for location precision


Creator Mode

  • Add 3D models (from library or AI-generated)

  • Capture AR video and voice notes

  • Edit and share from mobile companion app


Safety & Curation

  • AI toxicity detection and location-based filtering

  • Relevance ranking using cosine similarity & EMA

  • Friend network and verified-creator prioritization

Product Architecture

  • Supabase for global content storage and retrieval

  • Google Maps API + Custom Locations API for spatial routing

  • AI moderation (Detoxify) for content safety

  • Edge functions for fast trail discovery

  • Cosine similarity ranking for personalized feed

Product Architecture

  • Supabase for global content storage and retrieval

  • Google Maps API + Custom Locations API for spatial routing

  • AI moderation (Detoxify) for content safety

  • Edge functions for fast trail discovery

  • Cosine similarity ranking for personalized feed

Design Principles

1. Cognitive Clarity
Minimal UI for real-world use; ambient overlays guide direction.

2. Hands-Free & Voice-First
Gestures for creation (pinch, swipe, tap); voice commands with short confirmations.

3. Spatial Feedback
Dynamic minimap and AR blips showing orientation and nearby trails.

4. Cross-Device Continuity
Record with Spectacles → Edit and publish via phone or desktop.

Design Principles

1. Cognitive Clarity
Minimal UI for real-world use; ambient overlays guide direction.

2. Hands-Free & Voice-First
Gestures for creation (pinch, swipe, tap); voice commands with short confirmations.

3. Spatial Feedback
Dynamic minimap and AR blips showing orientation and nearby trails.

4. Cross-Device Continuity
Record with Spectacles → Edit and publish via phone or desktop.

Example Experience — WokWalk

A Footprints-powered AR food tour through San Francisco’s Chinatown, combining cultural storytelling, scavenger-hunt gameplay, and spatial media sharing — later showcased as part of SnapAR Accelerator demos.

Example Experience — WokWalk

A Footprints-powered AR food tour through San Francisco’s Chinatown, combining cultural storytelling, scavenger-hunt gameplay, and spatial media sharing — later showcased as part of SnapAR Accelerator demos.

© 2025

All Rights Reserved

vivienkong.x@gmail.com

All rights reserved, ©2025