Augmented reality software company 8th Wall Inc. today announced the launch of Face Effects, a new developer-focused toolset aimed at allowing AR experiences that can be attached to faces. 

This new addition to the platform will allow developers and brands the ability to create “face filters” that are interactive, real-time and can be triggered from a website. These new Face Effects filters are also device-agnostic and can be used on iOS, Android or desktops with a webcam.

“With 8th Wall Face Effects, creativity and innovation is as limitless as the open web,” said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, founder and chief executive of 8th Wall. “[This launch will] provide developers and agencies the tools they need to bring face AR to the web.”

With Face Effects developers will be able to anchor 3D objects to face attachments and render face meshes with ease that can make use of face-related components, textures and shaders.

This has a variety of potential use-cases including sports face paint, the display of jewelry, eyeglasses, haircuts and a number of entertainment uses.

Similar technology has been used by NexTech AR Solutions that allows potential buyers of eyeglasses a chance to see what frames would look like on their own face. Fashion eyewear maker Warby Parker Inc. has built a similar app for trying on glasses. 

This technology can be extended to provide ways to virtually “try on” jewelry, hats, sunglasses, or anything else that could be worn on the face or head.

The 8th Wall Face Effects platform will open this technology to a wide variety of developers and brands by providing an application programming interface that can be experienced across all devices. Developers will have immediate access with 8th Wall’s WebAR platform allowing users to experience the AR content embedded with other web content.

Since WebAR is a web-based technology, smartphone and desktop users do not need to download a special app to receive the experience.

“8th Wall has done it again, on the heels of their Cloud Editor and their volumetric capture templates, they’ve integrated a robust and reliable face effects module into their ever expanding toolkit,” said Eric Ladd, founder and chief executive of Ignite XR. “We found it easy to use yet powerful, similar to the way face effects work in the social media platforms.”

8th Wall released the cloud-based authoring and editing suite for WebAR called Cloud Editor in October, which provides a unified in-browser development solution. The new Face Effects tool will extend the features already present in Cloud Editor and the company’s other platform offerings.

Face Effects is similar to 8th Wall’s existing World Effects and Image Target AR tools, which allow developers to attach 3D objects to real-world objects. The software also includes support for popular web frameworks including A-Frame and Three.js.

8th Wall’s platform also includes integration for the developer’s preferred analytics, customer relationship management, and payment systems for apps with retail and “try-it-on” sales features.

8th Wall Face Effects is now available to the public on the company’s website as part of the overall 8th Wall Platform. New users can sign up for a 14-day free trial and existing developers can simply log in and get access immediately.

Image: 8th Wall