Snap Announces New Augmented Reality Tools and Camera Features 

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Snap announced an array of new features across its platform at its annual Snap Partner Summit

Snap’s AR community is building real businesses using Snap’s technology. These developers across the world have built over 2.5 million Lenses that have been viewed over 5 trillion times. To help support further AR innovation, Snap introduced features, including Lens Cloud.

Lens Cloud is a freely available collection of backend services. Features include:

• Storage services: this makes it possible to build complex and interactive Lenses by storing assets in Snap’s cloud, and calling on them, on-demand. Snapchatters can pick up on sessions where they left off last time
• Location services: allows developers to anchor their Lenses into custom locations around the world. Or, they can use Snap’s city templates.
• Multi-User Services: shared AR across multiple users is possible within the same Lens

Soon, Lens Studio will feature Ray Tracing, which will make it possible for reflections to shine from AR objects in a way that’s true to life. This is the first time a capability like this is scaling across mobile devices.

• Introducing Snap 3D Asset Manager: Brands can now request, manage, and optimise 3D models for any product in their catalogue. Now, Shopping Lenses can be created in seconds, and at no additional cost, allowing brands to create highly converting try-on experiences while ensuring minimal returns thanks to Snap’s size prediction technology
• Introducing a new kind of shopping Lens for trying on outfits without ever having to change clothes, powered by our AR Image Processing Technology
  
• Introducing Dress Up: Available in Lens Explorer, or soon just one tap away from the Snap Camera in AR Bar, Dress Up invites people to browse, discover, and share new looks from around the world. This will be the first dedicated surface for fashion experiences on Snapchat.
• Introducing Camera Kit for AR Shopping: Camera Kit for AR Shopping is an AR SDK that brings Snap’s try-on Lenses into retailers and brands’ product detail pages to enhance the digital shopping experience for their customers. Camera Kit for AR Shopping works across Android and iOS, and will soon work on websites too.

Snap announced a multi-year partnership with Live Nation that will elevate performances beyond stages – creating a deeper connection between artists and fans – through custom-built, immersive AR – only available on Snapchat.

Snap also announced a new feature for developers to add social experiences to Minis.

• Introducing Minis Private Components System: Developers can add social elements to their experiences such as ratings, reviews, recommendations and more while protecting Snapchatter privacy.

Snap is introducing a flying camera called Pixy. It’s pocket-sized, and operates on its own, without controllers or anything complicated to set up. It floats a few feet above you and captures photos and videos, then lands in the palm of your hand after the flight. Everything it shoots gets downloaded into your Snapchat Memories.