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The Secretive $4.5 Billion Startup 'Magic Leap' Is Gearing Up To Release A Consumer Version of Its Tech (forbes.com)
Magic Leap is an incredibly secretive company based in Florida that develops "mixed reality" technology. While the company was valued at $4.5 billion in its latest round of financing, Magic Leap has never released a product. "It has never given a public demonstration of a product, never announced a product, and never explained the proprietary 'lightfield' technology that powers its products," writes David M. Ewalt for Forbes. That may be about to change, however, as the CEO Rony Abovitz said in a rare interview that the company has spent a billion dollars perfecting a prototype and has begun constructing manufacturing lines in Florida (Editor's note: may be paywalled, alternate source), gearing up for a release of a consumer version of its technology. "We are building a new kind of contextual computer," Abovitz says. "We're doing something really, really different." The final product of theirs is expected to fit into a pair of glasses when everything is said and done. "When you're wearing the device, it doesn't block your view of the world; the hardware projects an image directly onto your retina through an optics system built into a piece of semitransparent glass (the product won't fry your eyeballs; it's replicating the way we naturally observe the world instead of forcing you to stare at a screen)." Forbes adds: The hardware also constantly gathers information, scanning the room for obstacles, listening for voices, tracking eye movements and watching hands. As a result, mixed-reality objects are aware of their environment and have the ability to interact with the real world. On Magic Leap's hardware a Pokemon might escape capture by ducking behind your couch or, assuming you live in a "smart" home, turning off your lights and hiding in the dark. In one of its demos the Magic Leap team shows off a computer-generated "virtual interactive human," life-size and surprisingly realistic. Abovitz and his team imagine virtual people (or animals or anything else) as digital assistants -- think Siri on steroids, except with a physical presence that makes her easier to work with and harder to ignore. Ask your virtual assistant to deliver a message to a coworker and it might walk out of your office, reappear beside your colleague's desk via his or her own MR headset and deliver the message in person. Ewalt goes on to write about Abovitz's life growing up and the past companies he has founded, which have ultimately helped lead him to Magic Leap.
or the USA Presidential Election.
And it failed because no one wanted to spend $999 on a pair of glasses that spy on you constantly and could be easily hacked and reveal all kinds of sensitive data (credit card numbers, etc.)
More like Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", IMVVHO.
Amazingly, Magic Leap is actually listed on his site under "Other Works" ... Apparently, Neal is their Chief Futurist
http://www.nealstephenson.com/magic-leap.html
mrt
When a Pokémon turns out the lights. Brave new world.
On Magic Leap's hardware a Pokemon might escape capture by ducking behind your couch or, assuming you live in a "smart" home, turning off your lights and hiding in the dark.
It's all fun and games until someone dies from falling down the stairs in the dark because a pokemon switched off their internet-vulnerable lights.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
until people start going blind from burned retinas
It is a VR goggle that connects to a Segway!
What the fuck systemd? You just decided you needed to clean up my /tmp file system for me? Well fuck you. /tmp
stuoid systemd deleting my files from
fuck you
It deleted your porn, too. Only the furry stuff.
Requires wearing glasses, it is already DOA. Wearables aren't the future, let alone the present. Makesme crazy, all that money that could actually be put to use helping people. Another well-funded silicon valley jerkoff vanity project.
Need to be sure to test them on prisoners first!
Last time a heard a story like this we got the Segway.
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A bunch of virtual messengers milling about the office delivering messages. Wow, that sounds awesome.
The return of Clippy?
Forture Magazine is more and more running articles originally authored by PR agencies under the guise of an "original" "investigative" article signed off by one of their own writers/editors. This whole article looks and smells a lot to me like the hype buildup for the Segway device - and how well did that all go?
Remember when, before it was launched, Dean Kaman called the Segway rolling exercise neutralizer simply "it"? And "it" was going to revolutionize society in millions of ways? Remember that it didn't?
This is like that.
I keep my files in a secret /.tmp dir that systemd doesn't know about. Yet.
It was a pretty good article. Well written and didn't sound like total hypus pocus.
Their product can join fine products like xbox, playstation, flatscreen TVs, tablets, iphones, android phones, computers, etc. that are made in america. Oh, wait... Also, the electronic component supply-chain in Florida is certainly world-class. Something just doesn't add up here.
And I am a regular attendee at SF area VR / AR meetups and events. Haven't seen a demo or heard from anyone @magicleap
Every other thing you can imagine is demoed.
Not that yet, so 2 years before its on your face commercially.
I'm betting their technology embeds a two dimensional array of microscopic lasers into silicon which it uses to project the display directly into your retinas, thus bypassing any focus issues related to the eye's lens. I "know" this because that's how I would solve the problem.
The tricky part will be tracking the movement of the eyeball and keeping the projection lined up correctly with the retina.
The hype machine on this reminds me of Dean Kaman's hype for the project Ginger that turned out to be the segway. It was a remarkable achievement that fell flat like a thud. One could see how they might have imagined greatness for it.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
And it's not Ross perot. No that's the sound the 4.5billion dollars of magical wealth transfer makes when the investors discover they have just fleeced.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I haven't seen anything from this company that gives me confidence that this is a real product. Nothing that they've shown -- some of which has been produced by Weta Works, or nothing their marketeers, engineers, etc. have said. It all came off as incohesive bullshit.
If they can really pull of what their fake-videos have shown, I will gladly buy their product. But until they show something( anything ) that's not just another produced-video, this stinks of a scam.
Because I couldn't think of a good one: * Insert Duke Nukem Forever joke here *
The initial video demo for Magic Leap looked very impressive, but it was just a concept video and was quite misleading. The problem is that the video shows various virtual objects that are darker than the background, e.g. The dark red robot against the cream wall at 49 seconds in.
Unlike the composited lies of the initial video, all their subsequent videos are shot through their device and it is abundantly clear that they are using an additive light technology (much like you would get from bouncing an image off a piece of glass at 45 degrees). The first thing you notice is that all of the videos shot through the device are in rather dark rooms, some very dark indeed. If you look at this shopping demo you will see that the eyes of the weird yellow lamp creature are meant to be black, but the grey background shows through them. This is a limitation of additive light.
Now people who have used the device say they were blown away and I'm quite sure that if I saw their Star Wars demo in a conveniently darked room, I would also be amazed. The problem is that people who have experienced the device in darkened rooms might come away with the impression that it can show dark objects, or rather, realistically lit objects, in a normal well-lit environment. In an outdoor environment, or even a well-lit room, the objects could look very washed-out, or at the very least, very bright, glowy and unnatural. If you just want to shoot glowing space aliens or read some glowy text, that isn't an issue. However, if people are expecting to see realistic naturally lit objects that actually look like they belong in your current environment, I think they may be sorely disappointed. The additive light limitations could also be a big problem for shopping applications. After all, it's a bit difficult to see how that dark green couch is going to look in your lounge if the wall behind it just shows through. Google's project tango has the advantage there since it can just composite naturally lit objects over the video feed.
I'm not saying their device couldn't be really useful, or even pretty amazing in certain situations and environments, but I think the limitations will cause issues and may put a lot of people off buying one. I could also be wrong, and for some reason they have been refusing to show their amazing light-blocking technology in their demo videos, but that seems unlikely.
P.S. Although they have been more honest in their videos recently, I should point out that their website still shows concept images that misleadingly give the impression that they are able to show objects darker than the background. I should also point out that Magic Leap have been far more honest than Microsoft who seem to exclusively composite their videos to hide their crappy field of view and similar additive light limitations.
It's a non-story with nothing interesting to say because nobody knows enough to be able to talk about it. What the fuck is the point of articles like this?
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
It's a scam. They always are.
They probably didn't say much, simply to avoid embarrassment. Now the VCs have some kind of exit strategy or have found some place on another balance sheet where a huge tax-loss would be helpful. Happens all the time. Nothing to see here, move along. No pun intended...
1. It will be a really nice display technology.
2. It will be ruined by plays to create a new "platform" owned by magic leap.
3. It will be filled to the hilt with malware/spyware.
4. It won't work with GPUs powerful enough to take advantage of the new display.
Oh, right. Theranos.
Let me make a wild guess: we are talking about a pair of glasses with more or less transparent displays for lenses and some sort of eye tracking tech? Hard to imagine how this has cost billions to develop. Thousands, I can believe, or even millions, but billions? Let's see the goods, that all I can say.
This is actually not a scam. You should read up on Rony and his buddies from Washington. And all their patents.
I'll nutshell it for you. Rony is a weird guy that made a fortune in the medical field. His friends hold a bunch of imaging patents on how to generate visual data by vibrating a fiber optic cable, this is how they will create the light field display. It's an absolutely ingenious setup.
Rony has been obsessed with VR/AR for decades, before it was cool the first time. This is a passion project that was initially funded by himself and the fortune he made in the medical industry..
He is definitely a weird dude but trust me this shit is happening, there is no one to scam, he could be sitting in Bermuda with all the hookers, black jack and hot grits he could want but he decided to take a massive personal risk on this. Check out his old bee fortune blog and he drones on about the same VR/at stuff that's he's actually pursuing now.
Wow, a Jew wanting to make a 3D map of your rooms and monitoring everything you do in your own home - what could possibly go wrong?
Wow, that citation FTA is awfull. The examples it gives are just for selling the future to people stuck in the past..
Skeuomorphisms in Augomented Reality..?!
There certainly is a place for that in games, but certainly not the "virtual assistant" use case.
From Wikipedia:
Yep sounds like a virtual assistent that walks out of my office in VR. These examples are just for selling the future to people stuck in the past.
Abovitz and his team imagine virtual people (or animals or anything else) as digital assistants -- think Siri on steroids, except with a physical presence that makes her easier to work with and harder to ignore. Ask your virtual assistant to deliver a message to a coworker and it might walk out of your office, reappear beside your colleague's desk via his or her own MR headset and deliver the message in person.
I'll buy them for my entire department if it means I can inflict Clippy on other people.
I knew I needed to stop reading Slashdot and finish my PhD when I started to miss articles by Bennett Haselton.
riiight... you seem to be is full defence mode, PR person perhaps? How many posts today?
stfu.
Can it run proper porn VR?
When 'secret developments' are hyped, and the detail is left obscure to scare up interest, it ends up in a damp squib of an implementation; a project that 'fails to commercialise' as they said about Project Ginger, aka Segway.
I'm sitting in South Florida right now and you're absolutely right. There's no "secretive" tech being developed here. There's some tech, yes, but nothing on the cutting-edge at all. However, there is a constant stream of scam-bait coming from a bunch of old men who moved here from Jersey. They're always pitching some BS and I'm sure that's what this is.
riiight... you seem to be is full defence mode, PR person perhaps? How many posts today?
stfu.
I personally know a bunch of guys that work there. Some I went to school with, some I mentored when they were fresh grads. I can't share anything they might have let slip, I don't want to jeopardize their future, but if you spend enough time with the engineers during the years they are working on solving cool challenging problems there are going to be a lot of little slips. I may even have helped when they asked for brainstorming advice about a manufacturability issue when we were out for a bike ride. So what? They have nice jobs thanks to a guy willing to take a risk without having a product yet. I'll withhold any judgment until a) there is a real product available for sale, or b) my buddies ask if I know of any good openings anywhere.
How does this story in any way offend you? Are they asking you for money? Maybe STFU is good advice, and you should try it sometime?
Sounds exactly like Hololens.
It's a scam. They always are.
It could also be a prelude to another "Florida man" story.
This is actually not a scam.
Then it must be a great scam!
Nobody needs and few can afford.
The hardware also constantly gathers information, scanning the room for obstacles, listening for voices, tracking eye movements and watching hands
...and it runs for 3 years on a watch battery. Preorder now!
You might even say: "I'll believe it when I see it"
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
Why does this feel like Dean Kamen and "IT" (Segway) all over again?
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
I imagine this thing to be the device that Riker brought back from Risa in "The Game"
Come on Wesley, try it! Everyone is doing it!
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
We are almost here - get your glasses for the daily dose of your new soul & spirit programing so you could never find out anything except archon way.
Not interested until the "virtual interactive human" can be a beautiful brunette (barely) dressed in my choice of lingerie. And she needs to sound seriously awesome, cute, etc. Like the babe in this commercial. Bring the good cheer, digi-honey. :)
Then they'll have a real product.
o Drunk = hangovers
o In the morning, it's worn off, and so you have to chew your own arm off to get away
Nope, this could be better than beer. Definitely. Just keep the glasses on. No hangover; no "bagless shock."
Plus, you could give a pair to your date. Then she won't want to chew her arm off. Win-win!
"Silicon swamp" (soon to be "Silicon Reef", courtesy of your friendly neighborhood CO2 emitters...)
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
William Shakespeare said “the eyes are the window to your soul.” I agree. I adore the eyes of the opposite sex.
From that standpoint, I see sunglasses as "windowshades that hide the soul."
Don't like 'em. At all. When I shoot portraits, I make sure any glasses are off. Indoors or out. Nothing nice or sexy about them.
For those times when the sun is hurting your eyes or compromising your vision, yeah, ok. Just like raincoats in the rain. You shouldn't wear them with any idea that they make you look good; they don't. They just keep exigent circumstances from ruining your day sometimes.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Abovitz and his team imagine virtual people (or animals or anything else) as digital assistants -- think Siri on steroids, except with a physical presence that makes her easier to work with and harder to ignore. Ask your virtual assistant to deliver a message to a coworker and it might walk out of your office, reappear beside your colleague's desk via his or her own MR headset and deliver the message in person.
So ... instant messaging, with a more-intrusive and less-efficient user experience, crossed with a feeble simulacrum of actual in-person interaction.
If that's the typical use case for their additive-light augmented-reality tech, then no thanks.
AR proponents have always been keen on pointing out potential applications, in entertainment (who needs more entertainment options?), and education (where I feel it's hugely overrated), and in industry (where there are certainly valid ones, but they're too obvious to be exciting). I've always found them underwhelming, and none of them seem particularly socially transformative, the way the automobile, say, or television were.
Some of us have been following this for a while, and know it's got some very smart minds behind it's publicly deep pockets.
Lots of people on this thread who are just scanning the article and reacting, without doing their own research, so those of us who have are happy to share some of it here.
This is slashdot though, so we'll still get the uneducated making authoritative statements and assumptions, and the rest of slashdot trying to push what real discussion that can be had.
"lt;dr" is the correct response to most of my posts.
No, that'd mean they're keeping an open mind. This is clearly the wrong place for that :)
"lt;dr" is the correct response to most of my posts.