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, and 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)