This week Magic Leap showcased a live demo of their technology which did little to dissuade its critics that the company can’t deliver on its promises.
The augmented reality (AR) glasses developer has raised over £2 billion in funding over the last four years through crowd sourcing and industry investment.
Magic Leap demoed its product in a live video that was watched by media and an eagerly awaiting internet.
What we do know
Magic Leap have announced that its first product will launch this summer. However this announcement was accompanied by fine print at the bottom of the video which stated:
“Magic Leap one has not been authorised as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained”
They have also released some of the internal specs for the device. We now know that it contains an Nvidia Tegra X2 multi-core processor and two Nvidia Denver processor cores inside.
The operating systems is a 64-bit Linux based one with a unified memory system with an option to partition if needs be. Developers were told that a Parker system-on-chip consisting of two ARM A57 CPU cores are fully available to them to use.
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Many were waiting for a live demo of the tech, but unfortunately this was not to be.
What they got was a pre-recorded demo that did little to match up to the expectations set out by the company, as seen in this video two years ago,
A Whale leaping out of a school sports hall floor in immaculate detail is what we expected and hoped for, but instead what we got was a mobile phone quality troll throwing rocks at us.
AT&T
If there were any winners out of the announcement it was US telecommunications company AT&T who have been given exclusive rights as the wireless distributor of Magic Leap One devices in America.
John Donova AT&T Communications CEO commented in the release that: “AT&T is excited to pair our pioneering technologies, unmatched network, content platform, and vast customer ecosystem with Magic Leap’s efforts to build the next generation of computing”
AT&T will provide the cellular data connection for the device which was previously thought to be constructed solely for indoor use. This partnerships hints at the possibility of a more outdoor experience with the glasses.
However, the developers have stated that the lenses are not blacked out, so light will affect the quality of the experience if in bright light conditions.
Rony Abovitz, Founder and CEO of Magic Leap comment that: “We’ve joined with AT&T because we believe in a combined vision of expanding high-speed networks, edge computing, and deep integration with creative content.”
“Coupling the strength of the evolving AT&T network with Magic Leap’s spatial computing platform can transform computing experiences for people,” he added.
AT&T customers will be the first to be able to purchase the device when it is released. Demos and sales will take place in the US cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco first.
