Background

This project is a WebAR platform that allows community members to access and contribute site-specific content directly through their mobile browsers. The purpose is to give organizations a flexible tool for civic engagement, environmental education, and community storytelling that goes beyond conventional methods such as static signage, paper surveys, or one-off mobile apps. The platform pairs image-marker AR tracking with a content management system that allows non-technical partners to author, update, and deploy experiences without needing a developer.

Objective

The team is developing a prototype with three core components: an authoring interface where partners can upload media (images, GIFs, video, audio) and anchor it to printed QR-coded markers placed in physical space; a mobile WebAR client that lets visitors scan a marker and interact with placed content; and a backend that captures community input in the form of placements, voice responses, written reflections as research data. The first application is a partnership with Neighborship, an Oakland-based grassroots organization, to build an AR walking experience that connects environmental justice history, bioremediation research, and community-designed housing futures along 10th Street in West Oakland. The goal is to create a generalizable platform that other universities and community partners can use for their own work.

The Team

Principal Investigator(s)

• Dr. Bavisha Kalyan, Assistant Professor of Teaching, UBC Department of Civil Engineering

Student Team

• Chirag Deepak, UI/UX Designer (May 2026 – August 2026)

Staff

• Phoebe Titus, 3D Generalist (May 2026 – August 2026)
• Jeff Chang, Co-op Developer (May 2026 – August 2026)
• Dante Cerron, Staff Developer (May 2026 – August 2026)