After the long wait, Magic Leap, the secretive augmented reality startup, finally unveiled its first AR headset. Releasing first as a ‘Creator Edition’, the so-called ‘Magic Leap One’ AR headset is said to start shipping in 2018.
While the company has shown its tech to journalists and celebrities alike, all impressions have been held within the strict confines of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Starting today, we now have a better picture of the final form-factor and styling of the headset, although hard specs are still under wraps.
Here’s every pertinent image we’ve scraped from their site so far:
The headset itself is going by the name Lightwear, which features an array of sensors – exactly how many and their individual purpose, we’re not sure yet. Two cables are seen trailing out the back of the Lightwear headset, although Rolling Stone reports these actually unite in a single cable on its way to the computing unit.
The headset, which has a real-time computer vision processor, reportedly contains four built-in microphones, external cameras to track the wearer and the world they’re in, and tiny high-end speakers built into the temples of the device to provide spatial audio. Magic Leap founder and CEO Rony Abovitz told Rolling Stone the headset incorporates “eye tracking, and you’re going to use gesture, our input system for most of the experience.”
The report describes Lightwear’s field of view (FOV) similar in size to “a VHS tape held in front of you with your arms half extended.”
Rolling Stone reports the headset will come in two sizes, and pieces like the forehead pad, nose pieces, and temple pads can all be customized to ensure a good fit. Before the company launches Magic Leap One, they’ll also take user’s glasses prescriptions to build corrective lenses directly into the headset—possibly hinting at a decidedly premium pricetag.
The system comes with a small mobile computer that’s clipped to the user’s waist, which Magic Leap calls the ‘Lightpack’. Tethered by a single cable, the company says it offers “[h]igh-powered processing and graphics, streamlined in a lightweight pack that stays right by your side.” Abovitz told Rolling Stone the company is still working on battery optimization.
A 6DoF motion controller, which is dubbed simply ‘Control’, features a touchpad, “force control and haptic feedback.” Rolling Stone says it also features an “array of buttons.”
There’s no pricing information yet – only a signup form to fill out to register your interest in the Magic Leap One Creator Edition.
The company is also releasing access to the headset’s software development kit (SDK) “along with all of the tools, documentation, learning resources and support you’ll need to begin your journey.” This is said to come in early 2018.
In September 2017, it was rumored the multi-billion dollar Magic Leap could be shipping their first device to “a small group of users within six months,” and that the company would also take on a Series D investment led by Temasek Holdings Pte., a Singaporean venture capital firm. The rumor regarding its Series D turned out to be true, but we were left waiting on any word of surrounding the headset itself.
Info is still thin on the ground. We’ll be updating this piece as it comes in.
