Hacker News Reader

Comment by HeyShayBY | Hacker News Reader

OK, I'm convinced. Magic Leap technology is the next big thing.

I agree that augmented reality tech has promise, but from the article alone, I don't think we can say much about the quality of the Magic Leap experience, no way of determining how it compared to HoloLens.

https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us

i think by the sheer amount of funding that the prototype gear has been able to raise is a testament to the quality of the experience. the article also elaborated on why the quality is much better - "an optical system that creates the illusion of depth in such a way that your eyes focus far for far things, and near for near, and will converge or diverge at the correct distances.

In trying out Magic Leap’s prototype, I found that it worked amazingly well close up, within arm’s reach, which was not true of many of the other mixed- and virtual-reality systems I used. I also found that the transition back to the real world while removing the Magic Leap’s optics was effortless, as comfortable as slipping off sunglasses, which I also did not experience in other systems. It felt natural."

I am not sold on hololens since people who have tested it complained about the effective 'field of vision' which the experience applies to. see http://imgur.com/uCmWnis

Look at it with a critical eye. If they've already solved those issues, why would they have any reason to restrict who they demo to? I'd suggest they still have technical issues to overcome, and the Wired piece is at least partly hyperbole.

I'm always very hesitant to gauge quality/capability by amount of funding. Remember Solyndra? Better Place? Color? The startup annals are littered with companies that raised huge money amid hype and then failed to deliver. The fact that Magic Leap is being so secretive when everyone else is plowing ahead with improvements to VR and AR hardware available to the public is troubling.

Solving the vergence-accommodation conflict, as described by Kevin Kelly, is a big leap for AR/VR/MR. If they succeed in delivering, it will be huge. Hence the bet made by the investors.

I'm curious what new information was contained in this article that convinced you. I might have missed it, but other than the new promo video, it was the same information on the actual technology that we've already read on magic leap, packaged in a prettier article with a nicer story around it.

I might be out of touch with the latest news regarding Magic Leap but this is the first time I've seen a "live" demo of the technology. Those demo shots were filmed through an actual, working display according to the disclaimer and everything I've seen up to this point had been a pre-rendered "artist's concept".

I have a little more faith in there being something of substance behind their technology now that I know they have working prototypes. I'd only seen a mountain of hype and investment money chasing what seemed to be nothing but a concept and set of patents prior to this.

Two bits on this story convinced me too:

i) they also use a goggle. Much more credible than a whale in front of kids with no apparent hardware. And the reporter demoed it and endorsed the quality.

ii) the primary use is to replace monitors. That is both huge and a more predictable market than the promise of creating "some game or movie somehow" with it.

> Much more credible than a whale in front of kids with no apparent hardware.

The viewer (camera) is wearing the hardware. The kids and whale are placed in that scene by the ML hardware.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com