Alex Mejda
Game & XR Developer
Mamalies
AR Language Learning App for refugees
Role:
Programmer
Engine:
Unity/C#, AR Kit, AR Core
Platform:
Android & iOS
Store Page:
App Info
Video Credits: https://mamalies.de
The Mamalies app is designed to help refugee parents and their children learn german in a playful manner.
Using their phone or tablet to scan pictures from the accompanying book, language learners can listen to audio translations and optional explanations in 23 languages.
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My employer Trotzkind GmbH was contracted by German publishing house Carlsen and the NGO mamalies gGmbH to develop this app for their language learning initiative.
My Role
My task was to develop a proof of concept to ascertain the technical viability of the project and establish guidelines for our clients.
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Based on early book material provided by the client, I developed an AR prototype in Unity for Android & iOs that showcased the image recognition (using AR Kit & AR Core) and a viable UX concept.
In several meetings with our clients, I developed pipelines and technical guidelines for the collaboration, specifying the layout and format of vignettes, audio formats, file systems and naming conventions.
Challenges
Apart from the technical side, the biggest challenge here was to establish pipelines and guidelines that could balance our technical requirements with the clients' existing layout workflows and UX ideas.​
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After these had been successfully established, I handed the bulk of the development over to a colleague to fully focus on the development of the upcoming game Selina: Mind at Large.
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As the company's tech lead, I continued to be involved with the project by supporting its development with regular code reviews and meetings on design and technical questions.
