Ever since Google, Qualcomm, and others poured $542 million into an augmented reality startup called Magic Leap, the tiny company has been one of the tech world’s most mysterious ventures. But according to Magic Leap CEO and founder Rony Abovitz, Magic Leap will soon pull back the curtain on its creation.
In a conversation on Reddit today, Abovitz told Redditors that Magic Leap is looking for ways to showcase its technology to the public before it launches. “Stay tuned,” Abovitz wrote, “gold tickets coming.”
Just how or when these sneak peeks might take place is still unclear, as are most details about Magic Leap’s technology. What we do know is that Magic Leap is creating what it calls “cinematic reality,” using head-mounted technology that lets users see virtual objects overlaid on the real world.
In this way, it’s a lot like Microsoft’s HoloLens. The difference, Abovitz said on Reddit, is that Magic Leap has come up with a new way to generate those virtual objects. It’s called digital light-field signal technology, and according to Abovitz, it is safer than any other product currently being developed.
“Our philosophy as a company (and my personal view) is to ‘leave no footprints’ in the brain,” he wrote, noting that other 3-D technology has a proven history of side effects, like nausea and headaches. He said that Magic Leap has been testing the safety of its product using many of the same methods he used for Mako Surgical, a surgical robotics company that sold to Stryker for $1.65 billion.
Still, it’s hard to tell whether that argument holds water, given the advancements in stereoscopic 3D technology that have been made over the years, particularly in products like the Oculus Rift. Even so, Abovitz was adamant that he plans to win the AR war with safety, going so far as to say he wouldn’t wear devices that use stereoscopic 3D technology. “The ONLY safe way forward is to make a digital light field that is naturally tuned into your brain and physiology,” he wrote.
Abovitz still declined to discuss when Magic Leap will be available commercially, but he did say that the company plans to open its technology up to developers some time this year, including developers outside the gaming and entertainment world. That’s because, he believes Magic Leap’s technology is more than just an entertainment product, but a replacement for smartphones, and indeed all the screens in our lives.
“We believe that people may want to use this new form of computing as much, if not more than their mobile device,” he wrote. “We are developing a product platform to enable developers of all kinds, as well as a global creative/maker community to build the coolest stuff ever on it.”
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