snap-spectacles-navigation

# Spectacles Navigation — Location AR + Custom Locations Location-aware AR on Spectacles spans three concerns: positioning the user in the real world (GPS + visual tracking fusion), placing content at specific real-world locations (Custom Locations + Places API), and helping the user move between them (route planning, navigation UI). Each is its own discipline. ## When to load Triggers: - "Spectacles navigation" - "AR at a specific location" - "Custom Locations Snap" - "Places API in a lens" - "Indoor / outdoor navigation" - "Persistent spatial anchors" - "Outdoor AR walking directions" Don't load for: - General Lens Studio basics — [[../snap-spectacles-build/SKILL]]. - Multiplayer location experiences — combine with [[../snap-spectacles-sync/SKILL]]. - Phone-companion location features — see [[../snap-spectacles-mobile-kit/SKILL]] for phone-side GPS. ## Decide first The architecture decisions before code: 1. **Scope of "location."** A specific room, a building, a city block, the whole world? Different scopes use different tools — Custom Locations for site-specific, Places API for general POIs, GPS-fused for wide-area. 2. **Tracking model.** GPS only (loose), visual + GPS (tight), or pre-mapped (most accurate). See [[references/gps-fusion]]. 3. **Persistence.** Does an anchor survive across sessions? Across users? See [[references/anchor-persistence]]. 4. **Indoor vs outdoor.** GPS doesn't work indoors; visual tracking varies. See [[references/indoor-vs-outdoor]]. ## Map of content ### Foundations - [[references/location-ar]] — what "location AR" actually means on Spectacles. - [[references/indoor-vs-outdoor]] — what changes between the two contexts. - [[references/navigation-kit-overview]] — Snap's Navigation Kit at a glance. ### Site-specific AR - [[references/custom-locations]] — Custom Locations API for mapping real spaces. - [[references/anchor-persistence]] — anchors that survive across sessions / users. - [[references/large-area-mapping]] — covering a building, a block, a campus. ### Wayfinding - [[references/places-api]] — Places API for POIs. - [[references/route-planning]] — computing a path between points. - [[references/map-component]] — rendering a map / mini-map in the lens. ### Positioning - [[references/gps-fusion]] — GPS + visual tracking; when each is the source of truth. ## Verify Before claiming a navigation-enabled lens is shippable: - [ ] Location permission is requested, with clear UX explaining why. - [ ] Tracking model matches the use case (don't use Custom Locations for wide-area; don't use GPS-only for indoor). - [ ] Indoor flows tested at the target site, not just outdoor. - [ ] Persistent anchors actually persist (test by re-launching the lens). - [ ] Failure modes handled — GPS unavailable, visual tracking lost. - [ ] Multi-user case (if relevant) tested with two devices at the same location. ## Smoke test If this skill loaded correctly, the agent should answer: 1. The user wants AR at a specific museum exhibit. Which API? (Expected: Custom Locations — pre-map the space, anchor content; cites [[references/custom-locations]].) 2. The user wants AR labels on every coffee shop in a city. Which API? (Expected: Places API + GPS; cites [[references/places-api]] and [[references/gps-fusion]].) 3. Why does outdoor navigation work but indoor often fails? (Expected: GPS is unavailable / unreliable indoors; visual tracking has to do all the work; cites [[references/indoor-vs-outdoor]].) ## Sibling skills - [[../snap-spectacles-build/SKILL]] — Lens Studio basics. - [[../snap-spectacles-sync/SKILL]] — for shared / multiplayer location experiences. - [[../snap-spectacles-mobile-kit/SKILL]] — phone-side bridging for additional GPS / map UI. ## Sources - Spectacles features hub — <https://developers.snap.com/spectacles/home> - Navigation Kit — <https://developers.snap.com/spectacles/spectacles-frameworks/spectacles-navigation-kit/getting-started> - Custom Locations sample — <https://github.com/specs-devs/samples> - Outdoor Navigation sample — <https://github.com/specs-devs/samples>