
A demo that Magic Leap was going to show at TED - mmastrac
http://www.fastcompany.com/3044047/tech-forecast/this-is-the-demo-that-magic-leap-was-going-to-show-at-ted-before-it-backed-out
======
hughes
This is unbelievable. As in, I literally can't believe it. There's no way
they've come up with a full-resolution, head-mounted, transparent, additive
_and_ multiplicative display attached to a computer vision system capable of
identifying light sources and nearby geometry that _also_ has 100% perfect
hand tracking with haptic feedback. I also don't believe anyone would make
such bizarre, quasi-pornographic grunting noises while wearing such a device
and "playing" at the office.

~~~
frik
It's a _concept video_ done by a special effects company well known for The
Lord of the Rings and Avatar. The YT description "This is a game we’re playing
around the office right now" is a bit provocative and without a real
demonstration it's just PR.

Video on YT:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMHcanq0xM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMHcanq0xM)

Company:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta_Workshop](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta_Workshop)
,
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta_Digital](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta_Digital)

It's called _augmented reality_ and more basic implementations are already
possible for some time:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality)

@Downvoter: what's wrong?

~~~
teraflop
I didn't downvote you, but I suspect it's because this whole comment thread is
about trying to determine whether or not the video is real footage of Magic
Leap's tech. Asserting that it is or it isn't, without something to back up
that assertion, isn't all that helpful. Nowhere in the video description does
it say that it's just a concept.

~~~
frik
> without something to back up that assertion, isn't all that helpful

The video credits list _Weta_ prominently - that's alone is a significant
signal. The guns are props from Weta too:
[https://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/](https://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/)

CEO Rony Abovitz, who was supposed to go onstage at the TED conference in
Vancouver on Wednesday, has canceled his talk. Why would a CEO cancel such a
high profile talk and release that video afterwards? More info:
[http://recode.net/2015/03/16/magic-leap-googles-high-
profile...](http://recode.net/2015/03/16/magic-leap-googles-high-
profile-3-d-tech-bet-just-cancelled-its-high-profile-appearances-why/) ,
[http://recode.net/2015/03/19/the-first-video-of-magic-
leaps-...](http://recode.net/2015/03/19/the-first-video-of-magic-leaps-
technology-looks-fake/) .

I tested two state of the art augmented reality glasses (university research
prototypes) last year. The glass was connected (via cable) to a workstation PC
with several high end NVidia graphic cards. One also used Xbox Kinect to track
the environment and the arms. Everything shown in the video is already
possible, but not with that perfect visual quality and without any latency.

------
ykl
Wait, I'm confused. Is that video the actual game and how everything actually
looks, or is it a concept video with visual effects and props and whatnot by
Weta? Because up until now, I was under the impression that it was the latter.

~~~
choppaface
Magic Leap PR has not yet confirmed if the video is an authentic demo of the
product ( [http://recode.net/2015/03/19/the-first-video-of-magic-
leaps-...](http://recode.net/2015/03/19/the-first-video-of-magic-leaps-
technology-looks-fake/) ).

One hypothesis is that PR commissioned the video and planned to show it at TED
and other venues. IMO the video definitely looks produced and it was prudent
to cancel the talks rather than spin the video as a plausible demo of their
product.

Re/code's comparison to Google's hype of Glass is a little harsh, but
nevertheless if the video is indeed "fake" this would be yet another example
of Marketing being completely reckless with consumer expectations. I'm sure
the Magic Leap product has some impressive strengths. Better to let the
product speak than to let Marketing try to "lift" something different that
doesn't exist.

~~~
chralieboy
Re-watching the glass video, compared what was actually launched, their
criticism seems fair in retrospect.

It is also a great comparison on another level. This product may be amazing,
but whatever it takes to make it happen is so unwieldy that no one would want
to use it. Glass didn't fail only on the product experience, but on the social
stigma aspects as well. Odd gruntings aside, until we actually see the product
it is hard to say it will sell.

A good example of this is Apple. Presentation is equally important as the
actual tech (hence these unrealistic marketing videos.)

------
Lorin
It's odd that Engadget trumped this. I'll re-hash my comment from the article:

Those weapons are physical props from the Weta workshop collection (starting
at the low low price of ~$500, up to about $7000 @
[https://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/](https://www.wetanz.com/rayguns/)). They also
used SFX from Team Fortress 2 when they put down the turret. For the video
they either:

a) Created a magical bio-feedback system to artificially create gun recoil for
the person holding the weapon as well as tactile feedback for "in the air"
functions.

or most likely:

b) Created a Post-processed CGI demo meant to impress execs that have no
concept of what's currently possible - Might as well hire CorridorDigital and
make something like this instead:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCQeFX9GSg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCQeFX9GSg)

------
mbleigh
I don't even understand the purpose of a video like this. The only thing it
tells me is what Magic Leap hopes their tech will some day achieve.

Blatantly conceptual and given that it's being released in lieu of in-person
presentations, one can only assume that they didn't want to have to publicly
explain it.

------
Tarang
I'm not sure this is the actual thing. If you check out the video at near 0:10
you have emails which are fictitious, like an email from brands.edu (no whois
record).

For the company to say they're playing this at the moment in office it is a
bit misleading.

I hope the real thing will be just as cool if not cooler.

~~~
teraflop
I'm skeptical about the technology, but the email domains have nothing to do
with it. They could easily create a demo with real AR hardware and fake data,
or with fake visual effects and real data.

The software is pretty clearly a mockup, but nobody cares because the 3D
interface design isn't all that interesting. It's the hardware that's claimed
to be revolutionary.

------
cromwellian
The fact that the guns have recoil seem to suggest it's a concept video.

------
kayoone
can't believe anyone thinks this is real. It might resemble where they want to
go with the product but this video is composited, that's blatantly obvious. I
hope they can deliver on this vision. _cough_ google glass _cough_

~~~
mik3y
Yes.

Let's not forget this is the same company whose patent draft diagrams were
found to be basically wholly ripped-off copies of other public works. [1]

I'm impressed with the thoroughness of HNers screenshotting and looking at
motion blur, but nothing I've seen says we should give this company the
benefit of doubt. This reeks of "concept video" all around.

[1] [http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/30/7954611/magic-leap-
augment...](http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/30/7954611/magic-leap-augmented-
reality-patent-art-copied-designers)

------
keerthiko
Of all the skepticism, the two most reasonable ones are \- quality of the
headmounted transparent display. This doesn't even seem to be Magic Leap's
core competency and the tech required for a HMD to reach this level of quality
is far beyond anything we've seen before. \- real-time computation power on a
battery powered wearable. It would run incredibly hot and drain so much power
unless the guy was wearing a giant battery/CPU backpack covered in exhaust
fans.

For the other things, 1\. The room geometry could have been prescanned and
coded in 2\. hand-tracking could have used an additional wearable sensor on
the hand 3\. the AR systems could have been optimized for recognizing the gun
(I have worked with systems capable of that) for highly accurate and fast
real-time tracking of a non-malleable object 4\. and the interactive 3D
graphics given knowledge of the room (surface geometry and lighting) is not a
big deal at all.

The acting (such as recoil on the gun) is a bit overdone and obviously has
nothing to do with the technology itself, and I find it weird that the AR
actually seems to _assume_ you'd recoil that much and animates the shots as
such.

~~~
JeffKang2
> The room geometry could have been prescanned and coded

There's an Oculus Rift forum post that has a link to hand tracking with the
Structure Sensor.

The depth sensing portable Structure Sensor is 95 grams and $380
(Kickstarter).

There's noticeable latency in the hand tracking, but a post talks about
possible low latency for static objects by using a previous map.

Assuming you stay within a certain space, would premapping with something like
the Structure Sensor or Project Tango contribute the most to the stability of
virtual objects that Hololens testers experienced? (objects stick to their
intended position as you move):

>Daily Tech News Show DTNS 2414 - Jan. 23, 2015

that objects stayed stable when you move your head 17:43

well hold on a sec it is excellent 17:47

at keeping orientation for sure I looked around and something with an absurd
and 17:51

Spa 17:52

I looked around the same thing was there again I if they're mob rock on the
17:55

surface of mars 17:56

or a table covered with you know i i 17:59

toy castle at minecraft made all these tiny little minecraft building blocks
18:03

it would always be exactly where I thought it would be but I had to turn my
18:07

head all over the place cuz the field if the US 18:10

tiny it's like this little I somebody's described it as a sixteen by nine TP
18:15

floating maybe seven to eight feet and Franny 18:18

you're looking through this little narrow slice ever went out about this 18:22

big around in my view 18:24

trying to see mars this much at a time 18:27

and wherever you look is like oh that's exactly where I thought it would be
18:30

but its tunnel vision it's like you're looking through a pair of binoculars or

watch?v=uGYksMRmUwA

\---

>Through it all, the 3D effect was thoroughly convincing.

>The system felt very low latency; as I moved my head and walked around, the
objects retained their positioning in the real world, with the castle, for
example, never becoming detached from or wobbling around on the table.

arstechnica

\---

Or is good real-time tracking necessary for the virtual objects to stay
attached to their positions.

(> If you can figure out these numbers for your system, the addition of 38 ms
from the Structure Sensor will give you and idea of the total latency in your
system. kickstarter

> 20 ms minimum latency (AKA lag, compared to 102 ms minimum latency for
> Kinect 1 and 50 ms minimum latency for joypads in 60 fps games.) 123kinect)

------
empy
Reality Check: Comparing HoloLens and Magic Leap:
[http://www.technologyreview.com/news/535806/reality-check-
co...](http://www.technologyreview.com/news/535806/reality-check-comparing-
hololens-and-magic-leap/)

------
k3liutZu
They need some UI & UX designers badly.

------
hobo_mark
Although I used to enjoy quake2 when I was young, I don't feel the appeal of
shooting games anymore, or videogames in general. That is to say, I have been
on both sides of the fence and I still vividly remember the sweaty excitement
of a deathmatch.

Now, my first impression to this and to other AR (and VR) demos is, "Isn't
this literally a new Columbine waiting to happen?".

(NOTE: I do not mean the incident, those seem to happen regardless, I mean the
public outcry and witch-hunting).

Has public perception of interactive violence shifted to a point where "it's
not different from an action movie after all", even at this new point of
immersive realism?

~~~
pgodzin
I think anyone who has issues distinguishing between virtual reality and the
real world will have issues regardless of whether or not they play these types
of games. I don't think there is any study out there showing that violent
video games make people any more violent.

~~~
hobo_mark
And I agree with you! Edit to make the point clearer.

