Magic Leap: the mysterious startup wanting to bring magic to the real world

/ / Augmented reality @en

During last weeks we already talked about some headsets and wearables on Experenti’s blog: from Hololens to Vive, from Google Glass to Sony SmartEyeglass; maybe we saw just the prototypes, but we know what to expect.

Today, instead, we are going to talk about a mysterious project that is keeping on their toes the Augmented and Virtual Reality enthusiasts from all over the world: about a year ago, Google invested no less than $ 542 million in a startup called Magic Leap. Of course, everyone started to wonder what was at the back of Magic Leap’s project to interest a colossus like the big G. The situation became thorny as the answers didn’t come.

What we know about Magic Leap is that they’re working on a wearable, probably a headset, which blends Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, and that it’s not meant to be used as stationary. Nothing more. Aren’t you starting to be curious too, now?

The world of the web and technology enthusiast was expecting some answer from the recent Reddit AMA that Magic Leap’s CEO Rony Abovitz held about a month ago. When the users asked Abovitz how he’d explain Magic Leap, he replied in an even more confusing way: “You can think of us as techno-biology,” he said. “We believe it is the future of computing.” Then he explained his meaning of techno-biology: “is the proper application of technology to our biology that leads to the experience of magic.”

From what can be understood, it seems Magic Leap will be different from other headset for a main point: if they put you in a virtual world, Magic Leap will focus on take the magic in the real world. He added that their technology is called “cinematic reality” and it’s not based on the use of stereoscopic 3D, but on Lilliputian projector to shine light and images into the user’s eyes instead.

After that occasion, another one filled the curious with expectations: in march, Rony Abovitz was supposed to appear at TED to talk about his company’s mysterious work. At the last moment, unluckily, the company deleted this and another appearance for reasons unknown. They sent a video, though, that left the users without words: this is what’s apparently happening in Magic Leap headquarters: