Startup Magic Leap Hires Sci-Fi Writer Neal Stephenson As Chief Futurist

First time accepted submitter giulioprisco writes Magic Leap, a secretive Florida augmented reality startup that raised $542 million in October, hired renowned science fiction writer Neal Stephenson as its "Chief Futurist." Stephenson offers hints at the company's technology and philosophy: "Magic Leap is bringing physics, biology, code, and design together to build a system that is going to blow doors open for people who create things." According to the Magic Leap website, their Dynamic Digitized Lightfield Signal technology permits generating images indistinguishable from real objects.

Comments

I believe it!

[QilessQi]

According to the Magic Leap website, their Dynamic Digitized Lightfield Signal technology permits generating images indistinguishable from real objects.

...provided the real objects are themselves images. Look! That simulated JPEG looks exactly like a real JPEG!

Re:I believe it!

[Aighearach]

Yes, actually to be honest that doesn't sound like you uncovered a secret meaning, that sounds like the top shelf, most obvious understanding of exactly what they literally said, which turns out to mean just what it sounds like.

If you've ever seen big-budget films with CGI, and low-budget films with CGI, then you can understand that current technology does not include a system that automatically includes generated images that look real. Or as you put it, that look like "simulated JPEGs." Using current tech, the systems just don't do that. You have generate the objects, and then fiddle with every frame and if you spend millions of dollars per scene, you can finally make it close to seamless. They're talking about doing it without extra post-CGI processing and prettying. In that world, the low-budget films would have perfect generated objects because it would be a basic tool capability and not a human-intensive artistic process.

Re:I believe it!

[rtb61]

Generating the images is technically very easy the real problem in animation is generating the motion, the interaction between animated objects. The logical push in that direction is the creation of virtual robots, digital actors that would act out the animation script (not just people, but all movable artefacts). Once the motion and interaction is established and achieves the desired story telling goal, it is just a repeated process of adding more and more visual finishes on the existing interactions.

Re:I believe it!

[QilessQi]

I was actually going for the +1 Funny. How the heck did I get modded Insightful? :-(

Jobs Lives

[saccade.com]

Wow, $0.5B of investment without even showing a product? It sounds like they've perfected the Reality Distortion Field.

Re:Jobs Lives

[Anonymous Coward]

They have showed the product, just not publicly.

Does all "Leap" = hype?

[iMadeGhostzilla]

Leap Motion was heavily overhyped and after $40M of investments they produced basically nothing useful. I'm very skeptical of companies that only talk about how great product they *will* have, and this hire goes squarely in that direction. Apple at least keep quit until they have something that works.

Another Leap in this category is Sinclair's QL -- though I'd take it any day over these other Leaps in their current form.

Re:A pity

[Darinbob]

He's smart enough to accept money for a minor bit of marketing.

Ashton Kutcher wasn't available

[Eponymous Coward]

I'm thinking Stephenson was second choice because Lenovo already hired Ashton Kutcher to be a product engineer.

Neal Stephenson

[mseeger]

Hah, he is just hoping they will finish Clang! for him in order to save him from angry investors....

Prediction: company changes direction

[asz1596]

I fully expect the company will soon be subverted into working on a swordplay game.

Oh, great

[ag4vr]

Maybe as a first project, they can simulate Qwghlm for us.