Indian Startup Has Built World's First AR Social Network For More Real Connections

The world's first social metaverse is here, which is also the first AR-based social platform of its kind, and it is 100% Indian. Its founders have an ambitious goal - to bring back people into the real world by using augmented reality.

Competing with the likes of Snapchat and Pok¨¦mon Go, the metaverse platform uses augmented reality (AR) to deliver an immersive experience to its users. Founded by three former BITS Pilani graduates in May 2021, "FLAM" offers a transformative experience of images and videos to its customers.

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How about printed videos?

With "FLAMCards", users can print user-generated videos. When you hold your card in front of the smartphone camera using FLAM, it will immediately transform into a personalised message only viewable by the intended user.

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"We wanted to make AR simpler. Whenever you see a FLAM card [a printed video], you open your FLAM camera, you point the camera on the picture, and you see the video in the picture itself", Shourya Agarwal, CEO and Founder of FLAM told Indiatimes.

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Bringing people back to real life using AR

A metaverse is not simple nor straightforward. With FLAM, its founders are hoping to bring back people into the fold of physical reality by augmenting it. "The idea is to leverage AR and bring back people from these virtual screens [smartphones] to reality", Agarwal told Indiatimes.

The makers of this app also hope that our real world connections will be strengthened by using AR, which will change how users "interact with reality".

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While referring to the current route of technology development vis-¨¤-vis the internet, Agarwal explained how the internet as it exists now is not how it gained popularity. What essentially started as a quest to connect with others in a virtual space has given rise to utility of unparalleled levels in the form of product delivery and more.

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"AR is the successor of the internet", Agarwal gleefully announced, while suggesting that all companies in the future would have to become AR or metaverse companies to keep up with the times. "We will be shifting to different hardware where everything, including e-commerce and education, will happen through a camera/AR", Agarwal added. He also shed light on the need to start kick-start the adoption of AR technology, saying that the "starting point has to be a social network".

The challenges of developing a new product

Talking about the metaverse, Agarwal highlighted how users currently need to keep switching between the physical and the virtual for entertainment. "You won't need to switch", he suggested while referring to how interconnected the metaverse would become in the near future after mass adoption, which he hopes to begin with FLAM.

What about your data? According to FLAM, it's all safe. But as the technology receives a warm reception from people, concerns will naturally sprout up. Agarwal, too, highlighted the need to strike a balance for people seeking to build their online presence through open access and those who prefer to remain low-key citing privacy concerns.

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For FLAM, challenges will be especially peculiar, for the data is "more personal" when compared to Instagram or Facebook. "By default, it's restricted access", Agarwal told Indiatimes. Naturally, FLAM is in the face of a series of new challenges that accompany the birth of something new in technology. "The hard part is you will find very few engineers in India working in perception engineering, gaming engineering... These are rare fields", Agarwal told us.

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But they're not giving up. Remember Orkut? Yes, millennials, we're looking at you! The core team from Orkut and Google Maps is currently involved in the development of FLAM. Orkut Testimonials aren't coming back though - "We'll do something even more interesting", Agarwal told us while referring to the ancient social media platform's capabilities.

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So far, FLAM has raised $3.5 million in funding and expects to roll out an array of new features in the near future. "We are building an illogical company. In consumer companies, you cannot always question logic. You have to ask, are users loving you?"

Are you excited for the switch to augmented reality in the near future? Let us know in the comments below. For the latest in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.