Meet Alessandro Straccia, a Creative Technologist from Brazil and a valuable member of the Niantic 8th Wall Community. Alessandro recently released his book, “Interactive Web Development with Three.js and A-Frame.” Alessandro used his eight years of experience with Three.js and as a Creative Technologist to provide many insights for beginners. He also used this book to spark inspiration for developers and non-developers to start exploring the many ways you can build creative and captivating experiences. 

We sat down with Alessandro for a Q&A to delve deeper into his AR journey and explore how he's using Niantic 8th Wall to craft more real-world use cases for WebAR. 

How were you introduced to 8th Wall?
I started developing with 8th Wall in 2020 when I found some 8th Wall opportunities on a freelance platform. I was intrigued by the name; I hadn’t heard about 8th Wall before so I did a little research about the platform and figured out that it was based on Three.js and A-Frame, which is exactly what I've been doing since 2015! I accepted the freelance gig and haven’t looked back since.

What would you say is your area of expertise?
I usually say that I'm not a proper developer because I came from the design/3D area and always used development to bring my crazy ideas to life. But over time, I’ve learned different languages and studied a lot about development techniques, design patterns, and other development-specific knowledge to help me build more interesting projects. That said, I never stopped working with creative art and direction, helping my clients adapt their ideas to work better in immersive environments. So I'd say I'm 50% creative developer and 50% art/creative director!

What inspired you to write your book, Interactive Web Development with Three.js and A-Frame: Create Captivating Visualizations and Projects in Immersive Creative Technology for 3D, WebAR and WebXR Using Three.js and A-Frame?

The first opportunity to write content about Three.js was back in 2017, when I was invited by a publisher to develop an online course about Three.js. But I had some personal problems at that time and couldn't deliver the project. The opportunity came again in 2023 when Orange AVA Publishing invited me to write a book about Three.js. My main idea was to guide developers and non-developers through this amazing creative technology area using Three.js. The book walks through basic 3D knowledge, such as cameras, materials, and lighting concepts. Additionally, it dives into more complex elements like physics engines, post-processing, AR, and VR, so it's a good knowledge source for non-developers who want to start a creative development career and for "normal" developers who want to migrate to the creative development area.

How do web-based capabilities help you bring AR to the real world? 
I originally came from the native mobile AR area, using ARCore/ARKit for surface and world tracking, so I was very frustrated by the limited capabilities of WebAR back in 2017/2018. When I first discovered 8th Wall's SLAM/World Tracking capabilities, it felt like a real breakthrough for AR, especially for WebAR. Clients were no longer willing to develop native AR apps due to the app friction problem, so WebAR was the perfect solution. Over time, other capabilities (especially VPS) made 8th Wall the perfect platform for building WebAR experiences.

What are your future goals with AR?  
I have always been excited and enthusiastic about immersive technology, especially AR. I really want to see AR and VR technologies become more integrated into people's daily lives, whether for entertainment, work, or productivity. I'm particularly interested in how immersive tech can improve people's lives, such as using AR and VR in surgeries, mental health treatment, and managing mental illnesses. Currently, I'm drafting a project to use VR and AR to help people with chronic pain and those who spend extended periods in hospitals.

What’s a recent project that left you feeling inspired?

I have a special attachment to the Tyson x Ngannou AR Experience, which I worked on for Unit9. It was a huge undertaking, and I had the chance to collaborate with an amazing team of developers, art directors, and 3D designers. Everything about this project was top-notch: 3D scanning, high-quality assets, including superb organization, and efficiency. We had 8 weeks to build both the AR experience and the website, so the team was highly committed to delivering the best possible result. Additionally, it was my first time working with 8th Wall Sky Effects for the outdoor AR experience. It was great to understand how it works and how we could adapt the indoor/tabletop experience to this different technology. I'm really looking forward to getting more projects like this!

Are you interested in connecting with developers like Alessandro Straccia? Join our developer Slack to build and learn from others in the 8th Wall developer community.