That's a good story back from my internship time during graduation.
Let’s rewind to 2013. I was a third-semester student at UFCG (where I later got my BSc), and I had just started as an intern on a series of research projects funded by Sony.
Back then, I was still super naive and completely lost when it came to programming. I’d only had basic exposure to Python and Java, and suddenly I found myself working with Android development. Fun fact: my first-ever smartphone was a Moto G, and I was thrilled to use it for testing.
Man, it was challenging from the beginning to the end.
My first project was an app for monitoring doors and window sensors. It involved MQTT, a Java backend, and basic Android UI development. This was my first time building screens, learning about navigation, XML layouts, app lifecycle, databases, and even using Git. Somehow, it all came together for a working proof of concept — and I had a blast doing it.
Then came something bigger: an app called Augmented Location. Users could save Points of Interest (POIs), view them on Google Maps with custom markers and steps layout, and trace routes from their current location.
Sounds like Google Maps? Sure — but here’s the twist: we integrated Augmented Reality to help users navigate using their camera. When you got close to a POI, you could open the camera and follow an AR marker directly to the location.
Why was this relevant? Let’s not forget — this was 12 years ago. Mobile hardware was limited, and native support, community examples, and documentation were almost nonexistent. The idea was to help users find “unreachable” locations — like a store inside a huge mall where Google Maps couldn’t help.
The Challenge: AR on Android in 2013
Finding a free and functional AR SDK was tough. Eventually, I discovered the geoar SDK by 52°North GmbH. Shoutout to Daniel Nüst and others who helped me via email (no Zoom or Meet!) — for months — despite my poor English at the time.
I had to learn about Java reflection, managing dependencies (remember Eclipse Android Bundle? so), etc… every day felt like I was solving an impossible puzzle. But I made it work.
And it didn’t stop there. We even created an extension for Sony’s SmartEyeglass prototype. Not the sleek Meta kind — more like Robocop, with a wired power source, minimal docs, and only a few official apps.
Still… it worked. Users could now see POIs directly through the lenses — mind-blowing stuff for that time!
Phew, that was really nice to remember!
📝 Don’t give up, sometimes you’ll need to do things no one ever did. After all, someone needs to be the first Lol.
📝 As we say in Brazil, you already have a NO answer, so look forward for the YES, because it won’t hurt.
📝 If it was easy, everyone would be already be doing it.
📝 There’s always something you never saw before, so keep searching, sometimes the working solution is not the one you have in mind.
📝 Don’t be embarrassed about asking for help, and be humble to listen to different POVs, sometimes that’s all what is needed.
That’s it, thank you for reading until here, see you on the next memory! 👨🏼💻
And in case you liked it, check the medium page with the app's screenshots!
I am a Senior Android Engineer with 12+ years of experience specializing in Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, and mobile architecture. I have led engineering teams of varying sizes, worked on products serving millions of users, and increasingly apply AI-assisted development to improve engineering productivity. My expertise spans from building applications from scratch to modernizing legacy codebases, with a strong focus on scalability, performance, and maintainability.
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