Tao Xinle is excited about the upcoming HUAWEI DEVELOPER CONFERENCE 2020 (Together), not only because he can share stories and thoughts with developers across the world at this annual event, but also because he will bring his new innovation to the HDC. It is a text recognition app called ScanScan that has been downloaded more than 9 million times in AppGallery.
ScanScan was born out of a romance. Three years ago, Tao quit his job in Beijing and moved to Yunnan Province to live with his girlfriend Baibai. As a book lover who enjoys reading and noting down her favorite sentences, she tried various types of OCR software but was frustrated by the complicated procedures, low precision, and high costs. Therefore, Tao decided to develop a handy OCR tool for her.
Tao used the white cat he raised with his girlfriend as the logo for ScanScan to symbolize their love and togetherness.
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Story Behind ScanScan: Huawei Developer Platforms Power Mobile App Accessibility
Baibai giving feedback about ScanScan
As a beta user of ScanScan, Baibai offered a lot of useful feedback, which inspired Tao to add more functions to the original version, including document scanning, chart recognition, batch recognition, and translation.
During app development, Tao used the OCR and document correction capabilities powered by HUAWEI HiAI to improve the accuracy of text recognition and speed of boundary detection, and also integrated HMS Core's ML Kit, all free of charge. In addition to helping Tao save on resources, these two platforms also allowed the OCR feature to be compatible with various mobile phones, from low-end to high-end models, from Huawei brands to non-Huawei brands, even without the need to connect to a network.
The full-coverage capabilities provided by Huawei allow developers to develop features or apps compatible with all device models. ScanScan offers an offline recognition capability, which keeps user data safe with the recognized results stored locally on your phone, and allows users to use it anywhere, even in remote areas where the network signal is often patchy.
Story Behind ScanScan: Huawei Developer Platforms Power Mobile App Accessibility
Tao Xinle and Baibai trying out the app
At the very beginning, ScanScan aimed to offer more convenience to users like Baibai. However, it turned out to be a blessing for another unexpected group of users.
"ScanScan really helps me see the world," said Anzhi, a visually impaired user of the app. "I use it to read my schedule, musical notation, user guide for electronic device, and the label on medicine packets. Sometimes when I am not sure which floor I am on, ScanScan can help me identify the floor by taking a picture." Anzhi described her user experience with high praise for the app: "If I was only allowed to use one app on my phone, it would be ScanScan because it really helps me see more in my life."
By integrating HMS Core's AI capabilities and adapting to some accessibility functions on phones, ScanScan can easily recognize text in photos and convert it into audio output, which enables people with visual impairments to read in daily life. It also adds voice alerts to instruct users to adjust the camera angle for a more precise recognition result.
"When I found out that ScanScan can actually help people, it felt like I’ve done something worthwhile," said Tao.
Such powerful technology should be accessed by everyone, though it is sometimes still out of reach for certain groups. Accessibility features are crucial to apps, just like tactile paving is an indispensable part of our streets. By creating an app like ScanScan, Tao has demonstrated that he is as much of a pioneer as he is a developer who has paved the way for more newcomers.
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With the launch of the music creation app’s 5th iteration on AppGallery, developers from Remixlive worked together with Huawei engineers to integrate HMS Core. The developers are committed to offering both amateurs and professionals the possibility to create their own jam and make more complex music.
If you are a DJ or an aspiring one, you may be familiar with the experience of working on a full on Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). How about something that is way simpler to operate and lets you work on-the-go? Introducing Remixlive 5.
A digital DJ mixing software developed by the French company Mixvibes, Remixlive 5 lets you edit music samples everywhere and anywhere. You can produce a complete track on your phone almost instantly with the in-app grid-based remix toolbox. There is also a new Step Sequencer that allows anyone to create their own rhythmic and melodic sequences, making more complex music. Released in April 2020, Remixlive 5 is now available on AppGallery for all Huawei and Honor smartphone users.
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“In 1999, we founded Mixvibes because of our passion for music. There was no DJ software at that time,” said Eric Guez, CEO, Mixvibes. Dedicated to developing the best tools for music producers, the company decided to create Remixlive, a unique and versatile music-making application, after working on their flagship software Cross DJ.
Remixlive is made for DJs who want to deep-dive into music creation without spending hours learning how to use DJ software. After interviewing 20 DJs, the developers at Mixvibes concluded that music production apps on the market were either too simple in terms of features and functions or too complex in terms of the user experience. Thus, they decided to design an app which lets users get started easily, yet at the same time is capable of advanced music-making functionalities. With that, Remixlive was born.
“You can be a guitarist and use Remixlive as a backing track. Or you can be an MPC lover and make music by using our drums,” said Guez. “With each iteration, we aim to bring Remixlive closer towards being a mobile workstation for any musician on the road.”
Nordhal Mabire, Developer Leader
Nordhal Mabire, the lead developer of Remixlive, realised the potential of Huawei HMS Core and started on HMS Core Kit integration to make the user experience better. So far, Remixlive has integrated with the Push Kit, IAP and Analytics Kit. Push Kit offers users the possibility to get notifications immediately when new sample packs are coming. Besides, thanks to the IAP payment method, Remixlive can get an audience who was not able to go further in music production.
Furthermore, the developers are very close to their users. This is a positive for Remixlive’s developers who can very quickly adapt to users’ changing and diverse needs. “With the help of App Services offered by HMS Core, we were able to integrate with the Analytics Kit, which allowed us to understand our users. With that, we could optimise the application for a better user experience,” Mabire said.
The Analytics Kit allows Remixlive to provide users with more personalised services. Remixlive’ s first version was only a simple app to create songs, but in the latest version, users can find a large variety of features, such as advanced sample editing, Step Sequencer, Instant FX pad, and so on. These features elevate Remixlive into a more professional-level app, and at the same time allows users to be more creative in music production.
“After the publication of the Remixlive application on AppGallery, we could better understand our Huawei users’ needs and meet their expectations and preferences.” Mabire added.
In fact, developing Remixlive for the AppGallery was not a bed of roses. Remixlive provides more than 150 sound packs to help music producers. Some of these packs were embedded in the app, and the developers used the android expansion file (OBB). With these files, users can choose if they’d like to download free content before scheduled app updates.
“The inconvenience here was the need for the users to go online when launching the Remixlive app, especially if the free content needed an update,” said Mabire. OBB integration was impossible when they first developed Remixlive for AppGallery. But they managed to configure the app build to get these packs directly from within the app. As a result, Remixlive Huawei smartphones users don’t have to go online when launching the app.
In April, Remixlive 5 was launched a few days before lockdowns around the world. During the time of the pandemic and lockdowns, people needed to think about positive things and music was the perfect subject. Users were happy with the updates brought by Remixlive 5, and its sales increased by 49% in recent months.
“Since integrating HMS Core for Remixlive was a great success, we want to extend kit integration of HMS Core to our other apps. We have already integrated HMS Core to Cross DJ Free, and Cross DJ Pro will be ready soon,” said Guez and Mabire. “We are also very interested in the new HMS Core 5.0. We believe it will help us to give a better and smoother user experience for music lovers.”
For details about Huawei developers and HMS, visit the website.
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Maps are an integral part of life. Whether you’re going on an adventure hike, hailing a ride to get to work, trying to order food delivery from a nearby cafe, or just exploring a new neighbourhood you have just moved to, I bet the apps you’re using will always have a map and location function.
With a usage level this high, many Huawei developers need to integrate map-based functions when developing apps. This is exactly why HMS Core has included Map Kit, Site Kit and Location Kit as part of its Core Kits and capabilities.
Map Kit provides developers with basic capabilities such as map presentation, map interaction, route planning and supports various local lifestyle and transport businesses. Site Kit lets you provide users with convenient and secure access to diverse, place-related services. Location Kit combines the GPS, Wi-Fi, and base station location functionalities into an app to build up global positioning capabilities, allowing you to provide flexible location-based services targeted at users around the globe.
To launch these services that bring conveniences to users and developers alike, Huawei formed a map team. Right at the start, the team only consisted of 20 to 30 people and very few of whom had any formal training in the map industry.
Looking back on those early days, we were really flying blind. But as time went by, the team gradually filled out with new blood and included several fantastic industry experts. Each expert who joined the team was provided with a full suite of helpers to allow them to assimilate quicker onto the project so they can bring more value to the team. Many of these newcomers have grown a great deal since joining and, through a lot of hard work and a pioneering attitude, each has become a key pillar of our team’s success in their own right. We always used to joke that “the early bird catches the ***” … but he also must work the hardest.
Following the advice of our expert team members, we gradually formed a pyramid based on technical ability while maintaining a flat management structure. This enhanced the entire team’s development, deployment, analysis and problem-solving capabilities.
Now, Huawei Map Engine provides comprehensive location and mapping tools in 200 different regions and countries. Our map rendering has been enhanced by over 30% and key location indicators improved by over 20%, allowing us to surpass our initial goals in terms of performance. The service provides reliable and efficient location and mapping for app developers, supporting the worldwide expansion of the entire HMS Core ecosystem.
Throughout the development process, the team has adopted a variety of excellent new accessibility practices. For example, by proposing an integrated SDK decoupling cloud server, we were able to provide complete access to Map Kit and Location Kit to one of Singapore’s leading taxi apps ComfortDelGro in just three weeks.
Mapping and location services are a constantly evolving sector. It might be helpful to think of it like a living organism, with an algorithm engine as the brains, map data as the heart and the map ecosystem as the lifeblood. In the near future, Huawei will be able to perfect this comprehensive mapping ecosystem by combining those kits with a new app and data platform.
The new ecosystem will also introduce new algorithms and business models, such as AR maps, visual location and navigation services, AI-powered data generation, high-precision geo-positioning and other new technologies that will help to determine the future trajectory of the industry. At the same time, machine learning from accumulated data will help improve the accuracy and performance of existing algorithms and ultimately provide users with a better experience.
As always, the future is full of challenges and uncertainties. But watch this space, because our entire mapping team is confident of tackling this challenge head-on and creating a more competitive array of location services for our users.
*The article is written by HUAWEI’s Map expert.
For details about Huawei developers and HMS, visit the website.
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Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world's largest game jam event, with sites all across the globe, each of which attract a large number of talented developers, dedicated to creating innovative and immersive games in a limited amount of time. Global Game Jam Hong Kong (GGJHK), the Hong Kong site, always represents a particularly impressive annual gathering. Huawei helped GGJHK jointly held a 48-hour game design contest in early 2021, with the goal of identifying standout game developers, who create especially creative and imaginative works.
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On January 27, at the online opening ceremony, Peter Ng, the contest's sponsor, announced that "Lost & Found" would be the theme. Huawei engineers also delved into the benefits offered by HMS Core technology for the gaming sector at large. HMS Core solutions enable developers to create premium apps, bolstered by high-performance graphics rendering, responsive and engaging push messaging features, and also easy monetization models.
Rendering quality is a key indicator of a game's appeal, and Huawei provides all of the tools required for superb rendering performance, including CG Kit (a heavyweight rendering framework), Scene Kit (a lightweight rendering plug-in), and Graphic Profiler (an IDE).
A successful game app will certainly feature higher user engagement, which all game developers hope to eventually benefit from. HUAWEI Push Kit can help make this a reality, with its reliable push messaging delivery channels, which enable developers to push messages to specific audiences, and choose from a broad range of message styles.
Monetization is the ultimate goal for any game developer, and games that integrate HUAWEI IAP allow for effortless in-app payment, conducive for product purchases, membership subscriptions, and others. HUAWEI IAP aggregates mainstream payment channels from across the globe, and only requires the developer to stipulate the product and pricing information. Thanks to this, HUAWEI IAP is equipped to serve as the global monetization hub for successful games.
Huawei's end-to-end advertising solution, featuring refined ad delivery and highly-competitive revenue sharing ratio, has already enticed a large number of high-value advertisers. These services enable game developers to deliver a diverse array of ads that all offer a consistently excellent experience, stimulating further monetization.
During the online opening ceremony, Huawei engineers fielded questions on HMS Core from more than 100 game developers, providing them with a detailed look at the ecosystem, with easy-to-follow demonstrations for all of its unique benefits.
Over the following two days, more than 200 game developers participated in the contest, and by January 31, a total of 40 games had been completed. After a rigorous review by the organizing committee, three works: "Lost in the Ancient", "Remember", and "To you, in 10 years" were awarded the "Most Production-Ready Mobile Game Award", "Best User Engagement Mobile Game Award", and "Best Original Mobile Game Award" prizes, respectively, and HUAWEI give out an Mate40 Pro and two P40 Pro as on-the-spot prize.
For more information on the contest, check out this video on YouTube:
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In Akihabara, Tokyo, huge comic posters are scattered along the streets, capturing the attention of passerbys. Many comic enthusiasts enjoy creating comics and plots by themselves. "We hope everyone can create the art from their hearts without limitations of time and place, to capture momentary inspiration." TOMOKI TANIGAWA said.
MediBang! was founded in 2014, and is a company that provides a range of art tools and a platform for creating art. MediBang Paint was born with the aim of allowing app users to create art anywhere, anytime.
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It is ideal for creating all kinds of illustrations and comic design, providing users with a wide range of brushes, materials, and fonts for comics, helping them create vivid and rich stories. For beginners, MediBang Paint offers introductory tutorials to help them get started, and for serious users, the app allows them to purchase a range of professional painting tools.
TOMOKI TANIGAWA: Business director of MediBang Paint/ART street
MediBang Paint is cross-device compatible (mobile phones, tablets, and PCs), allowing users to collaborate and create art. "Great comics require teamwork," TANIGAWA said. "Our app empowers many users to pool their skills and work together, encouraging team-building."
Users work together on different types of devices
"MediBang Paint has seen over 60 million downloads around the world. We hope to improve the app's user experience so that users can focus more on their creation." said TANIGAWA. "This is one of the reasons why we cooperate with Huawei HMS Core. We hope HMS Core's powerful and open capabilities can help us achieve our goal." He continued.
Currently, MediBang Paint has integrated In-App Purchases (IAP), allowing users to make in-app purchases with ease. As MediBang Paint is a globalized app, by integrating the IAP function, it can reduce cost for integrating global payment channels, ensuring regulation compliance during product development and release. In addition, the developers of MediBang Paint can integrate IAP efficiently and therefore focus on app innovation.
MediBang Paint has also integrated Account Kit, providing the one-click sign-in function, so users can quickly sign in to the app across different devices. By integrating Ads Kit, the app developers can leverage their apps' users to achieve further business success and gain more profits.
"HMS Toolkit makes integrating HMS Core capabilities an easy and efficient process. Under the assistance of the HMS Core team, we completed integration in a very short period." said SHINNOSUKE TAKAHASHI, an advanced engineer from the MediBang system department." After integrating the open capabilities of HMS Core, our app has achieved fantastic performance. We hope to deepen our cooperation with Huawei HMS Core. In the future, we will continue to explore further cooperation with Huawei HMS Core. For example, we can look at how to integrate Huawei's Pencil Engine that delivers smooth writing experience, to make our MediBang Paint more powerful and easier to use for our users." He added.
SHINNOSUKE TAKAHASHI, a senior engineer from the MediBang system department, working on improving user experience.
The HUAWEI DEVELOPER CONFERENCE 2022 (Together) kicked off on Nov. 4 at Songshan Lake in Dongguan, Guangdong, and showcased HMS Core 3D Modeling Kit, one of the critical services that illustrates HMS Core's 3D tech. At the conference, the kit revealed its latest auto rigging function that is highly automated, is incredibly robust, and delivers great skinning results, helping developers bring their ideas to life.
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The auto rigging function of 3D Modeling Kit leverages AI to deliver a range of services such as automatic rigging for developers whose apps cover product display, online learning, AR gaming, animation creation, and more.
This function lets users generate a 3D model of a biped humanoid object simply by taking photos with a standard mobile phone camera, and then lets users simultaneously perform rigging and skin weight generation. In this way, the model can be easily animated.
Auto rigging simplifies the process of generating 3D models, particularly for those who want to create their own animations. Conventional animation methods require a model to be created first, and then a rigger has to make the skeleton of this model. Once the skeleton is created, the rigger needs to manually rig the model using skeleton points, one by one, so that the skeleton can support the model. With auto rigging, all the complexities of manual modeling and rigging can be done automatically.
There are several other automatic rigging solutions available. However, they all require the object to be modeled be in a standard position. Auto rigging from 3D Modeling Kit is free of this restriction. This AI-driven function supports multiple positions, allowing the object's body to move asymmetrically.
The function's AI algorithms deliver remarkable accuracy and a great generalization ability — due to a Huawei-developed 3D character data generation framework built upon hundreds of thousands of 3D rigging data. Most rigging solutions can recognize and track 17 skeleton points, but auto rigging delivers 23, meaning it can recognize a posture more accurately.
3D Modeling Kit has been working extensively for developers and their partners across a wide range of fields. This year, Bilibili merchandise (online market provided by the video streaming and sharing platform Bilibili) has cooperated with HMS Core to adopt the auto rigging function, allowing for virtually displaying products. This has created a more immersive shopping experience for Bilibili users through the application of 3D product models that can make movements like dancing.
This is not the first time Bilibili cooperated with HMS Core as it previously implemented HMS Core AR Engine's capabilities in 2021 for its tarot card product series. Backed by AR technology, the cards feature 3D effects and users are able to interact with the cards, which are well received by users.
3D Modeling Kit can play an important role in many other fields.
For example, an education app can use auto rigging to create a 3D version of the teaching material and bring it to life, which is fun to watch and helps keep students engaged. A game can use auto rigging, 3D object reconstruction, and material generation functions from 3D Modeling Kit to streamline the process for creating 3D animations and characters.
HMS Core strives to open up more software-hardware and device-cloud capabilities and to lay a solid foundation for the HMS ecosystem with intelligent connectivity. Moving forward, 3D Modeling Kit, along with other HMS Core services, will be committed to offering straightforward coding to help developers create apps that deliver an immersive 3D experience to users.