Augmented Reality Educational materials.

South Africa has a massive class divide and the largest genie co-efficient  where learners and the educational materials they have access to reflecting that (https://theconversation.com/ho...). It is very easy for the richest households and schools to have access to the most innovative and engaging materials. We aim to create materials that are available to the lowest income households. We needed to gain expertise in what we were trying to solve and we chose to contact and work with the Two Oceans Educational Foundation based down in Capetown (https://aquariumfoundation.org...). The educators there informed us that where they are teaching learners (either through outreach programmes or privatised educational structures), learners understand why they shouldn't litter and pollute the environment from an ethical standpoint, but very few initially understand how it affects marine wildlife. They know pollution can affect the quality of water, but not that it can negatively impact the environment and its inhabitants. Little is initially known about marine wildlife and that doesn't equate to a caring mentality. Obviously the more knowledge the average person knows about the affect we all have on the environment, the more they can teach one another. Since we utilise social media as an engine and analytics platform we have the community where users can educate one another and share their passion for caring about the planet. We want to educate a generation of problem solvers, because sometimes you are even unaware of the problem. Because we are developing digitally based materials they have global reach and can be accessed online, but on a local level we aim to make materials that compliment existing structured teaching materials. 

We create 3D Augmented Reality filters (Using SparkAR Studio) that fit in along side with the Two Oceans Educational Foundation's teaching materials. We develop materials that can be accessed through social media platforms, so users don't need high end mobile devices or constant network connectivity to experience the 3D models by downloading a new app. On the back end we collect data analytics to make sure we are reaching the target demographics. Effects can be accessed either through searching the key words, going to the account the effect is published to, or scan a qr code with an embedded link that prompts users to open their existing social media accounts. The way we act as developers is to schedule are monthly updates and materials and regularly update them to make sure they stay active and available to all learners.

It's very easy as a developer to develop a solution that you think is solving a problem but to misperceive your target audience and problem. Partnering with the Two Oceans Educational Foundation shed some light on the issues they had. The one they mentioned was that the students that dropped off their programmes the most, were learners between 13 and 19, where learners go from primary school to high school and high school to university where because they are in new environments and exposed to new hobbies and points of interest. This is also a demographic that embraces social media and grew up with the idea of sharing your life and values online with others. Younger generations also always seem to be judged for spending time online, but if we can find a way to utilise social media platforms for educational purposes and promoting their values, we have the means to change the narrative from "They are wasting time online" to "They are using their time online to learn more about the world". Innovation in the education fields, the solutions generally aim to accommodate the higher income schools (to make a profit quicker), but in doing that they leave a whole lower income demographic behind, only broadening the inequality in education. 

We have a standing relationship with Two Oceans and they're willing to let us lead them into a more digital space. Our business mentor Nicola (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ni...), is based in Capetown so we have someone close at all times. I am a developer based in South Africa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lu...) and the fact that the rand is weaker than most foreign currencies couple with a lower cost of living means we can get a lot more done with a lot less. My business partner Hannah (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ha...), is based in the UK meaning we also have feet in another geographic location able to find funding and potential clients for digital development projects in South Africa and abroad.

We're a startup just getting traction, to be acknowledged and supported by Solve will help us start out and add credibility in a world full of start ups that talk more than show up when needed. Obviously the financial support would be great, Two Oceans received a lot of their funding from the government and in turn has to be allocated to what they deem important. Such as outreach and student training. We were told that we'd always be allowed to test with their students and consult with their professionals but to get money from their funders can be a bit of a lengthy process. So we're in the weird innovative space where we have the expertise, access to market, access to the both the students and their families but we can't continue to develop on their behalf for free. We were offered the opportunity to pitch to the telecom company MTN to fund app development for the Aquarium with response pending and Two Oceans 100% willing allowing us to have free reign to develop for them and have access to their student and email base if we can find investors to cover the funding.

Augmented Reality Solutions are predominently app based and require some sort of additional printed materials to act as a target tracker. This means that a costly development process has to occur, a number of lower end mobile devices won't be able to utilise the app to at all and material costs are something that have to be factored in with costings. We want to prove that since we are still in the early acceptance stages of immersive technology, that their is no industry standard way of developing AR. Web based (that leverage existing platforms) solutions are cheaper, quicker to scale, accommodating to a broader user base and more intuitive to users. SparkAR Studio also has a free qualification programme and isn't code heavy. We hope that users will see what we are able to do in the immersive technology field and inspire them to develop their own digital materials applicable to the causes they want to promote.

We have billed ourselves as an Immersive tech company. Developing AR was much cheaper as a starting point than Virtual Reality. Fortunately through the Global Young Innovators Programme last year we received funding that allowed us to get the hardware and pay for the time to develop demos for Two Oceans and test with their classes later that year what it would look like for us to develop Virtual Reality scenes for their classes that can either be used as permanent installations in their Aquarium building or used for their outreach programme where educators drive out to landlocked or lower income schools to do presentations to the students. The idea that students could experience diving in a virtual space but not be by the ocean was appealing as a future prospect for the educational foundation. The Two Oceans Aquarium also shares the property and board of directors with the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. In meetings with the board we discussed opportunities of developing Virtual Reality experiences for the tourism side and not just as an educational resource (The one problem we were told about was how there are daily tours to Robin Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner, but tours will be cancelled is the weather is too bad, forcing tour guides to refund tickets purchased). By developing for tourism we have a means of promoting other aspects of the country and drive job creation in a sector that was gutted by Covid. We would like to continue our work with Two Oceans and continually build interest to marine education. Just last year the city of Capetown announced that Marine Biology would be implemented as an accredited high school subject supported by government, meaning our target market that we aim to provide quality and interactive education to will only grow.We want to see how we can implement VR and AR in South Africa while making sure that our work that lives on a digital space has global appeal. At the end of the year we secured a grant contract with South African Breweries for $33 000 to create AR materials that educate the youth about the dangers of alcohol over consumption over the next 2 years. Proving that our skillset as a studio can be applicable to multiple fields of education. Because we utilise social media analytics we don't have arbitrary numbers we use to mark our success against. As a limus test my one protfolio have 20 AR filters on it for instagram and averages 10 000 impressions a day. The Two Oceans Aquarium has a young biologists programme where they cover one marine creature a month, and we aim to create a 3D model for each month and over the next 2 years (with a growing sample size, and a return to in person classes) achieve similiar results.

We are fortunate enough to have access to Meta Platforms analytics systems so we can track user engagement and the level of engagement from each AR filter we create (one per month to accompany each month where educators teach about a new sea creature per month). When it comes to our reach in VR we aim to rent out VR headsets and make sure we track our reach from a school to school (in terms of outreach) or visitor to visitor basis with those installed at the Aquarium. In the future if we are afforded the opportunity to co-develop an app with Two Oceans we have google app store and Apple app store analytics to track user engagement and retention. I have a personal portfolio of 15 effects that bottomed out at 10 000 Impressions a week on Instagram alone, we'll use that as a baseline metric to see how we can achieve likely results at 12 filters per year aligned with course material. Marine Biology was accepted as a high-school subject in SA this year and Two Oceans has seen the need to regularly update their website so we can develop along side with them to make sure the learners get the best out of having regularly accessible interactive, digital materials.

I think a lot of companies implementing digital solutions to their traditional business models can very much be seen as reactionary to the pandemic and not necessarily proactive. It's easy for what we develop to miss the mark because it was made it haste. Because we don't know what the requirements are from the world year on year we always defined ourselves as an Immersive Tech company. Which is why we've tested AR solutions, VR solutions for outreach or permanent installation, and pitched for the development of a Two Oceans mobile app that compliments the existing website. We aim to act as a dev house meeting the needs of our clients and trends that they see with their user base. A great deal of our job I client education and informing them and their staff what is possible, so it's in our best interest to maintain longterm, strong relationships or risk having to start the process all over again. With Marine Biology being a high-school subject recently and schools going back to in-person learning we predict that the focus on different marine wildlife and the details involve will vary from level of learning and our development process will have to reflect that making sure we develop helpful materials and not just what we think would be fun. We hope that this model of low-tech but impactful solution development inspires other to think the same and broaden their scope of what is possible with accommodating business models.

The core technology we use is Augmented Reality, Social Media Analytics and Mobile Device capabilities. Branching into immersive tech solutions our core technology extends to Virtual Reality. 

Half our leadership team is female led and because we are a small start up team, we found it important to partner with other institutions who are experts in their fields and their business environments. Because the Two Oceans Aquarium is a partly government owned organisation they are required to adhere to all South African affirmative  action and BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) policies. As out sourced contractors, our own affirmative action score increases as, we as suppliers, add to the benefits of the government implemented policies. The level of inclusion extends to the aquariums outreach funding where Two Oceans receives government grants to take learning materials to more inland schools and less affluent schools who cannot afford to visit the aquarium in person and in turn learn about marine wildlife.

We act as a developer house with a business model that reflects that. We charge $50 per hour of development, then a licensing fee every month after launch. In return for that fee we regularly update the materials as well as send monthly analytic reports to our clients to show the traction they are receiving. Our business model in a hybrid one, where as we initially charge for development it is one that provides a product, vs when we start being paid to maintain the product and it turns into one accommodating that of a service provider. Initial once off transaction into monthly licensing as an additional revenue stream. 

We act as a developer house that gets paid to develop bespoke digital and immersive solutions that align with the subject mater being taught. Once we have developed the materials we the business relationship for that initial product turns from goods based to service based as we charge a monthly licensing fee to maintain and continually update the materials we developed to make sure they stay up to date with any changes in mobile technology. This same model applies as we explore developing VR solutions for the Aquarium as either permanent installations or for outreach with the added revenue stream of being paid to rent out VR headsets.

We received initial funding of 10 000 pounds from the Global Young innovators program 2021, care of Newable (https://newable.co.uk/) for the initial start up funding and development costs. And in December 2021 we received a $40 000 grant from the SAB Foundation (https://sabfoundation.co.za/) along with 2 years worth of business support from the Further coaching team (https://www.furtherimpact.co/).