Singapore Library Board Pilots Augmented Reading with Snap’s AR Spectacles
- A new beta experience uses Snap OS-powered Spectacles to overlay soundscapes and visuals as readers move through printed stories.
- Created with Snap and LePub Singapore, the project brings books to life using real-time text recognition and immersive effects.
The National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore is testing a new reading experience developed in collaboration with Snap and LePub Singapore, utilizing Snap’s AR Spectacles to overlay real-time audio and visual effects onto physical books. Readers wearing the glasses experience ambient music, sound effects, and dynamic visuals that respond to the text as they read. The project is currently in beta, with prototypes expected to be available for readers to try at selected libraries later this year.
The AR system scans printed pages using text recognition. It applies immersive layers based on the narrative, including mood-setting audio, situational sound cues, and visuals that reinforce the reading experience. Readers can also discover and share virtual artefacts collected through the experience. LePub’s innovation hub, LeGarage, collaborated with Snap’s AR Studio in Paris from concept to development, combining creative, technological, and library science expertise.
"Our goal is not to replace the traditional reading experience, but to enhance it by creating a compelling gateway to books," explains Stephan Schwarz, Executive Creative Director at LePub Singapore, in a news release from NLB. "These glasses are an invitation to rediscover the joy of deep, meaningful engagement with text. Once people are hooked on the story, we hope they’ll keep reading to the end.”
The pilot is positioned as part of the National Library Board’s broader mission to explore new formats that inspire discovery and reignite a passion for reading. It demonstrates how blending physical and digital elements can elevate traditional storytelling into something more immersive and shareable.
🌀 Tom’s Take:
Making the ordinary extraordinary is where augmented reality shines, and few things show this better than turning the simple act of reading into an immersive, multi-sensory experience. This pilot is a striking example of how blending the digital with the physical can reframe our most familiar rituals and make them feel entirely new.
