HKTITAN 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:
- 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.
- Tracking model. GPS only (loose), visual + GPS (tight), or pre-mapped (most accurate). See [[references/gps-fusion]].
- Persistence. Does an anchor survive across sessions? Across users? See [[references/anchor-persistence]].
- 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:
- The user wants AR at a specific museum exhibit. Which API? (Expected: Custom Locations — pre-map the space, anchor content; cites [[references/custom-locations]].)
- 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]].)
- 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