Facebook launches augmented reality Camera Effects developer platform

Facebook will rely on an army of outside developers to contribute augmented reality image filters and interactive experiences to its new Camera Effects platform. After today’s Facebook F8 conference, the first effects will become available inside Facebook’s Camera feature on smartphones, but the Camera Effects platform is designed to eventually be compatible with future augmented reality hardware, such as eyeglasses.

While critics thought Facebook was just mindlessly copying Snapchat with its recent Stories and Camera features in Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, Mark Zuckerberg tells TechCrunch his company was just laying the groundwork for today’s Camera Effects platform launch.

Because stylish, affordable AR glasses might be years away but everyone already has a camera phone, Zuckerberg tells me “the first augmented reality platform that becomes mainstream isn’t going to be glasses, it’s going to be cameras.” He says other apps (like Snapchat) have been keeping their augmented reality experience creation tools to themselves, but “building an open platform I think is going to be one of the big advances that pushes this forward . . . all developers can work on [the open platform] so that way you don’t just have 10 or 20 effects but you have thousands.”

That’s the same logic behind my August thought piece on why the camera should be Facebook’s next platform, which it now is. Developers let Facebook offer a much wider diversity of experiences.

Facebook is now allowing developers to apply for access to the closed beta of the platform’s AR Studio tool. It will allow developers to use precise location, object recognition and depth detection to create their effects. Facebook’s camera will be able to recognize specific objects like a coffee cup, and bubble up related effects to users like steam coming off the cup or sharks swimming inside the coffee.

Meanwhile, anyone can now use the Frame Studio to upload simple, static overlaid image filters that will appear in Facebook Camera to their friends or a Page’s fans. There’s no need for coding knowledge to use Frame Studio, you just upload an image and your name will appear on the Frame’s preview and News Feed posts to give you credit.

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