Hi folks! I am Shwet Khatri, a student pursuing a master's in Computer Science and Engineering at The LNM Institute of Information Technology, Jaipur, India. I love developing amazing real-world solutions with full-stack web development using trending technologies. At the same time, I’m an open-source enthusiast who loves collaborating worldwide to build open-source software.

I recently concluded my participation in the XROS (XR Open Source) Fellowship Program. Inspired by my experience, I’ve chosen to document my entire journey in a blog, starting from the initial application process to the culmination. Through this blog, I aim to share the valuable insights I gained and provide guidance on how you can join this remarkable program. The program’s value goes beyond financial incentives; it’s about the exceptional mentorship and networking prospects it presents, which are truly invaluable.

So, What is Open-Source?

Open Source refers to a collaborative approach to software and project development that emphasizes transparency, accessibility, and community-driven innovation. In Open Source projects, the source code is made available to the public, allowing anyone to view, modify, and distribute it. This encourages a diverse community to contribute their skills and ideas, fostering a spirit of collaboration and empowerment.

New to XR? Let’s understand that first.

Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). XR technologies merge the physical and digital realms, offering immersive experiences. VR transports users to entirely virtual environments, AR overlays digital elements onto the real world, and MR blends digital objects into the physical space. These technologies find applications in diverse fields, transforming how we interact, learn, and engage with both real and virtual worlds.

Now, What is the XROS Fellowship Program?

The XROS Fellowship Program stands as a distinctively crafted initiative focused on empowering Indian developers engaged in XR technologies. By offering fellowships that comprise stipends and mentorship from industry experts, the program extends crucial support. Its core objective lies in enabling developers to actively participate in open-source initiatives dedicated to advancing XR technology. Beyond this, the program strives to provide developers with a platform that offers access to top-tier resources, fostering the creation of impactful digital assets for the public benefit. Moreover, it goes the extra mile to enhance their professional journeys by facilitating fellowships in organizations operating across domains such as AR, VR, MR, and 3D Modeling.

How does this program work?

The format of the program was pretty straightforward like any hiring process. It consisted of multiple rounds because only 100 developers were supposed to get selected during the first cohort of the program.

The first round was like a screening round where the applicants established their profiles by providing basic details like their skills, experience, and a brief narrative outlining their enthusiasm for open-source, extended reality (XR), and, particularly, this program. This round was conducted to filter out the genuine applications for the program and wasn’t tough at all.

After receiving confirmation that their profiles had been verified, the applicants were provided a list of Partner Organizations having all the details about the participating organizations and the projects they had made available for contributors to engage with throughout the duration of the fellowship.

Each applicant was required to select up to four projects from the list that they are interested in working on during the fellowship and craft a proposal as a next step. The proposals were reviewed by mentors of the specific organization and some shortlisted candidates were called for interviews. Following the interview phase, the list of the Final 100 Fellows selected for the fellowship was revealed, with notifications being conveyed through phone calls and emails.

How did I get selected?

I got to know about the program via email and was already involved in working on AR Projects at that time. So, I thought let’s give it a try. My objectives were to learn and contribute to XR technologies via open source. After profile verification, I outlined the potential impact of all the available projects and how they are aligned with my objectives from this fellowship.

In the proposal writing phase, I started with the first project where I was very clear about how I was going to approach the project and meet the requirements. It was EcoDhaga where I had some unique and scalable ideas to help them build their platform. After completing that I started with Osenorth’s proposal since I had previous experience working on AI + AR products such as JAR4U. I also applied to Fanisko and Waspito after getting some initial interest in their projects.

In each proposal, I mentioned project details like the features I’m going to develop along with a well-defined timeline and how I’m going to collaborate in the community. I also included personal details such as my history of open-source contributions, internships, and projects which can help me stand out from other applicants. At last, I answered some questions nicely like why I want to join this fellowship, why I’ve chosen this project, and why I’m best suited for the project. Once all the proposals were composed, I submitted them through the portal for review. Concurrently, I engaged with mentors to gain deeper insights into the projects.

After the initial application phase, I was thrilled to receive an invitation for an interview. Surprisingly, I got interview invitations from 3 of them — EcoDhaga, Osenorth, and Waspito. The interviews assessed not only my technical knowledge but also my ability to think critically, collaborate, and communicate effectively. The interviewers were genuinely interested in understanding my motivation, problem-solving approach, and vision for the project. After a nerve-wracking wait, I received the news that I had been selected for the XROS Fellowship. It was a moment of immense joy and validation. I was selected by EcoDhaga and Osenorth, but I found people and contributors at Osenorth more encouraging to work with, so I decided to start my fellowship journey with Osenorth.

About the project

Ossistant (AR Personal Assistant by Osenorth) strives to create a personalized assistant leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Its purpose is to assist users in addressing their daily inquiries and accomplishing tasks through a human-like interaction. The incorporation of AR enables users to engage with the assistant in an immersive and dynamic manner, enhancing the overall experience.

The use cases or platform services covered during the fellowship period were as follows:

1. Music with AR Assistant — Listening to favorite music or media in a whole new dimension.

2. Virtual Fitness Trainer — Get trained by a virtual fitness trainer while performing workouts and yoga in your own environment.

3. Virtual Tour Guide — Getting directions or recommendations to your destination in a virtual environment.

4. Assistance on Daily Queries — Get instinctive answers to your daily queries via AI-based chat.

My four months long journey …

At the beginning of the fellowship, all the XROS Fellows got together for an introductory meeting led by our mentor and the founder of Osenorth. They guided us, and with their help, we planned out what new features we would work on during the fellowship. We also made a timeline for when we would finish each feature. Every weekend, we talked about our work, gave each other feedback, and shared ideas. During the weekdays, we focused on learning and working on our decided tasks. We aimed to reach the goals we set by the next weekend and put in our best effort to achieve them.

Virtual Fitness Trainer is the feature I built from scratch to culmination during the fellowship. If you’re a health freak, but don’t get enough time to go out to the gym or yoga class then we have you covered here with our Virtual Fitness Trainer. This use case is all about providing a Gym Trainer or Yoga Coach virtually in a more immersive way for free.

In this service, users are provided some workouts and yoga to try out. There are dedicated web pages to perform each workout/yoga. On that page, they get more details about that exercise and 3D Virtual Trainers demonstrating that exercise. These 3D animated trainer models are built using Blender and rendered using React Three Fiber.

Demo — Read and Experience 3D on Ossistant’s Virtual Fitness Trainer

Next, users can actually perform the exercise in front of the camera on this platform and the performance will be tracked by our AI-based body-tracking system built using TensorFlow and Mediapipe. It will keep track of performed reps or pose time and let the user know via voice making it a hands-free experience.

Demo — Track your session on Ossistant’s Virtual Fitness Trainer

Last but not least, users can observe the Virtual Fitness Trainer in their own environment by entering the AR mode on their phones. This will actually help users visualize a particular exercise better and understand the best way to do it. This AR experience is also built using React Three Fiber.

Demo — Get Immersed in AR on Ossistant’s Virtual Fitness Trainer

I began working on the mentioned service after the first two weeks. Prior to that, in the initial stages of the fellowship, I focused on enhancing the user interface, and overall visual style in the first week. This involved creating a mood board, low-detailed design, and more detailed high-quality design in Figma, as demonstrated there. Once the design was ready, I proceeded to develop the front end of the web pages, such as the homepage and service page in the second week, utilizing Nextjs.

In a nutshell, if you’re considering applying for the fellowship, remember that you’ll be tackling some tough challenges. However, the key is to do a bit of research on the issues at hand, get a grasp of the underlying technology, and don’t hesitate to seek assistance from your fellow participants and mentors whenever you need it. With this approach, you’re bound to overcome obstacles and succeed in your journey.

Why should you definitely go for this program

One of the most valuable takeaways from this program (or similar paid/non-paid open-source initiatives) is the chance to engage with a genuinely fascinating project that addresses real-world issues or improves upon current solutions. Additionally, you gain increased avenues to connect and interact with the community, facilitating valuable networking opportunities and access to constructive feedback.

I decided to dive into this program because I had acquired a certain level of understanding about XR technology and was eager to put it into practice by contributing to an impressive project. As it turned out, my experience exceeded my initial goals. I not only gained a deeper knowledge of XR technologies and successfully integrated exciting features into an XR project, but I also had the chance to explore more about XR and related projects through an active community. Collaborating with others who shared a common goal improved my teamwork skills, and I refined my ability to write open-source code and documentation effectively.

Lastly, the stipend serves as an extra advantage, just for a little extra encouragement 😉 Nevertheless, I recommend not making the stipend your sole driving force for participating in this program or any other open-source project. Doing so might obstruct your perspective on the authentic and enduring advantages that this program aims to provide, such as valuable skills, mentorship, and networking prospects.

Is it really tough?

Simple answer — Nope!

Let me share an example from my own experience. When I applied for the fellowship, I was a beginner in XR. However, what I discovered was that it’s absolutely fine not to be an expert in XR at the outset. After all, the realm of XR is still in its early stages of development, and the fellowship is a chance for people who are interested in learning and exploring it.

Given the limited availability of seats (just 100), it’s important to find ways to distinguish yourself from other applicants. Take my situation as an example: my background in professional experience and open-source contributions in web development played a crucial role in securing this opportunity and demonstrating my capabilities. However, I’d advise all applicants to consider exploring XR on their own before directly applying for this program. This prior exploration can provide you with valuable insights and a stronger foundation.

Conclusion

Finally, after 4 months, time has passed by quickly. I didn’t want this program to finish, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Thanks to my mentor Umair Tariq and my teammates Anindita H.K, Harshil Jani, and Uday Devu Tople because without them this wouldn’t have been possible. I really appreciate my mentor’s time and effort, as well as the effort other community members put into this program.

I was truly impressed by the welcoming and supportive community at XROS. They’re always ready to assist new contributors, and it’s been a wonderful experience. I’m excited to continue contributing to this project and staying engaged within the community, even after the fellowship.

Adios

Thank you for reading this far! I hope you found this blog informative and gained valuable insights into the details of the XROS Fellowship Program.

If you have any further questions about the program, open-source development, or technology in general, or if you’d like to see my work, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on my social media accounts listed below:

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/shwet-khatri

GitHub : https://github.com/ShwetKhatri2001

Twitter : https://twitter.com/shwetkhatri2001

Portfolio : https://shwetkhatri.netlify.app/

Till then, Keep Building 🚀, Keep Contributing 🙂