Wait: Magic Leap showed its first AR-glasses
The most secretive startup Silicon Valley Magic Leap for the first time showed glasses of augmented reality, work on which has been conducted since 2011. The system is called Magic Leap One, next year the company will begin shipping versions Creator Edition for developers, but the principle of the gadget has not yet been disclosed.
What is it?
Magic Leap One consists of three elements. AR-glasses Lightwear are equipped with six external cameras and other sensors. The device is connected to a computing module with a Lightpack battery, which is fixed to the belt. For control, the Wireless Controller is used, although the company also claims support for voice commands, gestures and eye tracking.
In glasses there is a chip responsible for pattern recognition and involving machine learning. The speakers have built-in surround speakers. Lightpack is, in fact, an ordinary computer with its own processor, graphics, drive and wireless modules. Representatives of Magic Leap compare it with the MacBook Pro and gaming PCs, but exact specifications are unknown.
How it works?
To create a 3D image, the startup has developed a mysterious light field technology. With the help of cameras, glasses scan the space and create an environment map. This allows you to remember the location of virtual objects, even when the user leaves the room. According to the editors of Rolling Stone, who visited the Magic Leap test lab, the field of view is noticeably larger than Microsoft HoloLens (although not a record one). It is not possible to distinguish individual pixels in an image.
Despite the cumbersome look, the new AR-glasses are light enough. They will be available in two sizes with different variants of nasal stops, the company also wants to add the possibility of installing lenses with diopters.
When to expect?
The points of the augmented reality of Magic Leap One will be available next year, but neither the exact release date nor the price of the device is reported. At the beginning of the year, the startup will launch a site for content creators and provide access to tools for developers (the startup promised to release the SDK as early as 2015, until the plans have changed).
In September, Bloomberg sources reported that the price of the kit will be from $ 1,500 to $ 2,000. For comparison, the main competitor in the person of Microsoft HoloLens costs from 3000 dollars.
Despite the minimum information about the technology, Magic Leap has already attracted more than 1.9 billion dollars of investment. The project was supported by Google, Alibaba, Qualcomm and other large companies. According to various estimates, the market value of a start-up can range from $ 6 to $ 8 billion.
Source: Magic Leap , Rolling Stone
