The Magic Of Magic Leap - The Secret $4.5 Billion Startup That Will Change Reality Forever
Mixed reality merges physical reality with virtual reality so that real objects and digital objects can co-exist in the same environment.
One of the leading developers of mixed reality is the super secret US start up company Magic Leap.
Magic Leap's technology is built around dynamic digitalized light field signal which can merge computer graphics with what the user sees in the real world.
While it's not the only company developing mixed reality the visual quality and user experience far exceeds any of its competitors.
The company is set to change the way we interact with the internet by placing virtual objects directly in the same room as the viewer and allowing the digital object to interact with the physical environment it finds itself in.
The realism it offers is astounding and it could find its way into a variety of applications from Simulation Based Learning, military training, Real Asset Virtualization Environment (RAVE), remote working, healthcare, aviation, gaming, and a host of other applications.
Rony Abovitz, the founder of Magic Leap, is the quintessential geek who has been into robotics since he was a little kid. He began building robots used for surgery and drew alien creatures in his spare time.
Unlike most engineers, he had a keen sense of both the mind of machines and the soul of biology. His surgery robots worked remarkably well and he later sold his company Mako for $1.65 billion.
Flush with cash and instilled with a deep love of science fiction, he created an alternative world in a graphic novel full of alien robots, flying whales, and dragonfly men.
He hired the Weta Workshop, famous for creating the special effects for Lord Of The Rings and Avatar to recreate his world for him, named Hour Blue.
Thinking that the best way to experience this world would be to immerse yourself in a virtual experience, he used his experience of creating MR for the medical industry to apply it to his graphic novel and Magic Leap was born.
Artificial reality exploits peculiarities in our senses. It effectively hacks the human brain in dozens of ways to create what can be called a chain of persuasion. In a movie, our brains perceive real motion in a sequence of absolutely still images. In the same way, you can scan a blue whale from many angles and then render it as a 3-D volumetric image that can be displayed on a headset screen and viewed from any position. Even if we know the object isn’t real—say it’s Godzilla instead of a whale—we feel subconsciously that its presence is real. credit
These videos demonstrate a little of what Magic Leap can do. If this is the future we are going to experience another revolution in communication technology.
The Untold Story of Magic Leap, the World's Most Secretive Startup
The Future: What Does Mixed Reality Look Like - Magic Leap
Inside A Company Creating Mixed-Reality Technology
To compare the difference between mixed reality and augmented reality here is a demo of Google's HoloLens which is augmented reality.
I think AR will be the smartphone equivalent next step. The mixed reality concept is already being introduced to kids through games like Pokemon Go and DinoMess, It'll be normal for them when it goes mainstream over the next decade.
It reminds me of the TV mini series by Oliver Stone titled Wild Palms. The sci-fi drama deals with the dangers of politically motivated abuse of mass media technology, virtual realities in particular.
In it the networks start a new television format, "Church Windows", which creates a virtual reality on the basis of popular shows like sitcoms, using a new technique called "Mimecom".
Eventually, the people who watch the shows have a hard time telling the difference between virtual reality and reality. It's a great show and you should check it out.
Will do. Thanks.
Wow...we can't stop the future, that's for sure. As cool as this is, it just reinforces my need to have balance, and stay connected to nature, as well as immerse my children in the wonder of the natural world <3 <3
Nature is my favorite reality because it is real and full of wonders.
So true!
To be a god
if for a day
wouldn't it be fun to play?
When worlds collide
and the dust subsides
a virtual ground profound I say!
To be a god
but for a day,
What mighty leaps - man has made.
Another nice article! Keep them coming.
That's some pretty mind-bending stuff. A glimpse of the future, which even the developers can barely describe. Incredible.
Wow! Mind. Blown. I can see all sort of applications for this technology. Fun stuff. Thanks, @luzcypher :)
Pretty cool, right? Imagine seeing a movie in MR.
THAT would be incredibly cool. . . . as long as it's not a horror flick. Hhahaha
I've been reading about this for the past couple years. Amazing from the first time I heard about it and it's still amazing.
It is amazing. I can't wait until they release it.
Very cool and yet troubling at the same time. Already we have issues with drones flying all over the place. Will we end up in a world where we are forced to merge the two? Will we create tech free geographic zones? As with all new technology, we are often not wise enough to use it before we understand consequences. But way cool! May we all be wise.