Magic Leap shows mixed reality glasses that will be released in 2018

Magic Leap has shown its first product. The Magic Leap One: Creator Edition is a pair of glasses that, according to the makers, can show digital objects as if they were present in the real world through lightfield technology. The glasses should be available next year.

Magic Leap has put information and images of the glasses on its website. The company does not yet mention technical specifications, nor is a price and a concrete date on which the product will be released. The glasses should appear sometime in 2018.

The start-up says that the glasses work with ‘lightfield photonics’ and generate light at different depths. This could allow the glasses to transition seamlessly into natural light, enabling the display of virtual objects in the real world. According to Magic Leap, the human brain processes the displayed digital images in such a way that it is comfortable to look at them for extended periods of time.

It is not clear what exactly the angle of view of the Magic Leap One is, but presumably digital objects can be displayed in a large part of the viewer’s field of view. With the HoloLens from Microsoft, the limited field of view is a major limitation.

The images show that the Magic Leap One is a fairly small pair of glasses, with semi-transparent lenses. There are also plenty of cameras on the front of the glasses. According to Magic Leap’s description, those cameras are used to detect objects in the real world and create a digital reconstruction of them. In this way digital objects can be placed in the room in a realistic way.

Furthermore, the glasses are equipped with speakers that display ‘soundfield audio’ according to the makers. This should ensure that the sound of digital objects appears to be coming from exactly the right direction. For example, wearers of the glasses can project a virtual TV onto a wall. When they walk around the room, the TV ‘hangs’ on the wall in the same place and the sound seems to come from there too.

The glasses work together with a small box, which contains hardware. Magic Leap speaks of an ‘integrated processing unit’ that can display ‘gaming-quality graphics’ and has the ‘power of a laptop’. Concrete specifications are unknown. According to Magic Leap, it is possible to edit 3d models with the hardware and play first-person shooters in the living room. A controller is also included, which resembles the controllers of Google’s Daydream glasses and Samsung Gear VR.

Rolling Stone has published an extensive article about Magic Leap’s glasses and that seems to be the only publication that has actually been able to try the glasses.

According to the Rolling Stone article, the Magic Leap One is the ninth iteration of the glasses. All other versions have never been shown publicly. In the fine print accompanying the images, Magic Leap says the company is “continually improving” the product and that it could be “different” when it comes out. When the Magic Leap One: Creators Edition will be released is not yet known. The company only says that the glasses will be released in 2018. The price has not yet been announced. In September, a rumor appeared that the glasses will cost $1500. The size of the glasses and the case was already correctly predicted in that rumor.

Magic Leap has been working on his technique for years and has raised more than a billion euros in investments from Google, Qualcomm and Alibaba, among others. It is the first time that the company has shown a concrete product.