CAVU Impact Partner: Girls Who Code Collaborates with Doja Cat to Teach Young Women AR Technology
CAVU is super excited to support Girls Who Code (GWC)in their commitment to increasing technology field and career exposure to women and other underrepresented minorities. GWC strives to close the gender gap in technology by increased K-12 computer science classrooms and experiences. GWC’s mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion is directly in line with our objectives at CAVU. We wanted to share with you an excellent example of how they are inspiring and educating young women in computer science!
GWC recently collaborated with RCA Records recording artist Doja Cat to teach girls the fundamentals of creating for augmented reality (AR) and to show them the future prospects that exist within the AR tech industry. As the first step in this initiative, Girls Who Code selected five young women to make a new Spark AR effect modeled after Grammy Award winning, Doja Cat’s visually creative performance at this year’s Coachella Music Festival.
Over the last few years, AR has blossomed from a nascent technology to one used broadly across communication, shopping, entertainment, expression and more. You can use it to see what a new jacket would look like on you, or how a new couch would fit into your living room. You can even play lightweight games with friends in video calls to feel like you’re sharing the same space. And increasingly, businesses are using AR for training, maintenance, and monitoring purposes, among many other applications. It’s expected to become a $98 billion market by 2028, and as it grows, there’s sure to be a hiring boom for people with AR creation skills.
Participating in this program required being a quick learner, curiosity about exploring new software, and experience using AR effects on mobile devices. Girls Who Code chose five would-be creators — Fatima Zahra Chriha, Nimsy Corea, OziomaChukwukeme, Queenie Lau, and Victoria Naile — who not only met those requirements but were chomping at the bit to start creating. Having been selected, the five drew inspiration for their projects from the visual styles of Doja Cat and the Coachella music festival. Their task was to create an effect based on a single design element from a list that included selfie (face) design, body segmentation, hand-tracking interaction design, and hair segmentation.
“This project immersed me in an exciting and fast paced environment to explore Spark AR,” said Victoria Naile, one of the creators. “We were inspired by the imagery of Coachella and Planet Her, but we were always encouraged to explore our own creativity when designing the lens. This has been one of the most unique experiences of my career thus far and I see myself using the skills I learned in this program to explore my passion for art in a way that aligns with my love of technology. I’m thankful to the Meta team for empowering me and my fellow Girls Who Code team members to explore different avenues of tech.” Dr. Tamika Barrett, CEO at GWC stated,
“We’re thrilled that our students were able to join us in our continued partnership with Doja Cat, and use their computer science skills to participate in such an event as iconic as Coachella. Experiences like this prove that a career in tech can be fun and creative, and can be an outlet for all our passions.”
CAVU, with the help of our clients, is proud to support Girls Who Code in their continued success with giving underrepresented girls the opportunity to have game changing experiences. Together we are changing by doing!