If you’ve seen the fun and quirky Malaysian-themed lenses or filters in Snapchat, chances are they’re made by a local company named ExAR Technologies. The dream to start a company designing augmented reality experiences happened when Eswaran Mohan and his team created a simple app during an AR competition in their third-year studies in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Their hard work paid off and in true Malaysia Boleh fashion, they became the first OLC in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, working and sharing ideas with a community of Lens Creators across the globe. Snapchatters try to imitate the emoji expressions the best they can in Imitate the Emoji Lens. In Ketupat Raya Lens, users use a randomizer to guess how much Duit Raya they’ll receive. The Durian Lens was created during the durian season and it makes a burping sound when Snapchatters open their mouths, easily one of the fun Lenses ExAR has made.
After having tons of fun working on the augmented reality space, the team wanted to share their experiences and open a new world to the younger generation. To do that, they have organised several workshops and talks to teach youths how to create their own Snapchat lenses. This effectively enabled youths to learn a theoretical subject in an enjoyable and hands-on way.