All Mode
Updated September 11, 2023
The End is Near
The devoted. The few. Magic Leap 1 owners will bid farewell to the device as a functional AR unit at the end of 2024, an email from Magic Leap to customers has revealed.
Initially aimed at entertainment and gaming uses of AR, Magic Leap released its first AR device in 2018 after years of hype and anticipation. With ambitions to sell 1 million devices in the first year, the company would have to remain disappointed in selling a modest 6,000 units in the first six months. The shift to an enterprise focus and the release of Magic Leap 2 doubtless also paved the way for the discontinuation of Magic Leap 1.
Come December 31, 2024 Magic Leap 1 – which is no longer able to be purchased – and the entirety of its support system from the developer forum to cloud services and operating system updates.
Image: Magic Leap
Magic Leap One AR Headset
After a long, long wait, augmented reality startup – Magic Leap – has finally taken the covers off its first AR glasses known as the ‘Magic Leap One.’ The first version of this AR headset will be called the ‘Creator Edition’.
Although not much information is revealed regarding the hard specs of the device, we do get to see the basic design of the headset.
Magic Leap currently refers to this AR headset as Lightwear. Lightwear, According to Magic Leap, is “Engineered to be lightweight and comfortable for hours of exploration. We’ve combined our Digital Lightfield technology with environment mapping, precision tracking and soundfield audio to produce amazing experiences that feel natural.”
Image: Magic Leap
From the images released, we can make out that the Lightwear headset is comprised of an array-of-sensors, details of which are yet not available. One of the images shows two cables rolling out of the back of the AR headset which are said to unite before making their way to the computing unit.
In addition to this, the Lightwear headset carries a real-time computer vision processor. There are tiny high-end speakers for spatial audio as well as external cameras for inside-out positional tracking. While talking to Rolling Stone, Magic Leap founder and CEO, Rony Abovitz, said that the Lightwear headset comes with “eye tracking, and you’re going to use gesture, our input system for most of the experience.”
The FOV, Lightpack, and Controller
As per reports, the Lightwear AR headset will come with a forehead pad and temple pads which can be customised and adjusted for a comfortable fit. Before taking any orders, the company will also take user’s glasses prescriptions in order to build corrective lenses directly into the headset. Of course, this will come at some extra additional cost.
The field-of-view (FOV) of the Lightwear AR headset is very similar in size to “a VHS tape held in front of you with your arms half extended.”
Image: Magic Leap
There is an additional mobile computing machine called a ‘Lightpack’ that can be clipped to the user’s waist and is connected to the headset with a cable. The company says that it provides “[h]igh-powered processing and graphics, streamlined in a lightweight pack that stays right by your side.” Currently, the team is said to be working on battery optimization issues. The final part of the kit includes a hand-held controller which features haptic feedback, force control, and 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) movement.
Image: Magic Leap
Shipping of the Lightwear AR headset will start in 2018. Interested people can register by filling out the sign-up form at magicleap.com. No details regarding the pricing of the AR headset are currently available but the company is also releasing its software development kit in early 2018 “along with all of the tools, documentation, learning resources and support you’ll need to begin your journey.”
Finally wearable tech that doesn`t look ridiculous.
oh man, these glasses already look so cool that I want to buy regardless of the amazing AR