Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

recode.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 70 posts

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#21

Post by psykotic »

jblow wrote: post #13
psykotic wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is wrong. What they're clumsily describing there sounds like Google Glass style AR.

The article isn't wrong, it's just ambiguously written. When you are viewing stereoscopic 3D, you are indeed looking at a surface that is flat and at a fixed distance from your eyes. This has consequences in terms of how your eyes are used to working versus how they have to work in a situation like this. So you might have fun wondering how to build something that doesn't work like that.

You're not wrong, but I still think the article is wrong. They are probably paraphrasing a statement from Magic Leap and miscomprehending it in the process.

> So you might have fun wondering how to build something that doesn't work like that.

For head-mounted use, there are light-field glasses like those of Doug Lanman. Who knows if that is anything like what Magic Leap is actually working on. They are so absurdly secretive that all I've heard so far are contradictory rumors.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#23

Post by epistasis »

psykotic wrote: post #9
Alain-lf wrote: post #7

A whole lot of money for a whole lot of buzzword but no information in sight... Magic Leap's own website has even less information. "On Oculus Rift and pretty much every other virtual and augmented reality experience, what the viewer sees is flat and floating in space at a set distance." I was under the impression that the Oculus Rift had full stereoscopic 3d? Either I'm wrong or this article is wrong.

The article is wrong. What they're clumsily describing there sounds like Google Glass style AR.

No, the article is right, "set distance" means that the eye focuses on a distance that is fixed, namely the distance to screens. It can have full stereoscopic 3D and still force the human eye to focus at a given distance. This is a big change from real life, where the eye is continuously changing the focus based on the depth of objects of interest.

Other, non-screen based technologies, such as DLP [1] would allow the rendered field of depth to adjust based on the eye's focus, allowing the scene to be more realistic, and reducing mental fatigue. I think there was a different company using someting like this. [2]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing

[2] http://kotaku.com/people-really-want-that-other-scary-cool-v...

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#24

Post by josephpmay »

I've been following this company for about a month now, and following this technology (light field displays) for a few years. I think this technology will basically replace all forms of screens eventually; it's just a question of timing. I'm annoyed I didn't hear about this company earlier, because they're based in my home town, but I just moved to California.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#25

Post by psykotic »

epistasis wrote: post #23
psykotic wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is wrong. What they're clumsily describing there sounds like Google Glass style AR.

No, the article is right, "set distance" means that the eye focuses on a distance that is fixed, namely the distance to screens. It can have full stereoscopic 3D and still force the human eye to focus at a given distance. This is a big change from real life, where the eye is continuously changing the focus based on the depth of objects of interest. Other, non-screen based technologies, such as DLP [1] would allow the…

Yeah, I work on VR and know of alternatives to stereoscopic displays. I still maintain that the writer is wrong and doesn't understand what they're describing:

"On Oculus Rift and pretty much every other virtual and augmented reality experience, what the viewer sees is flat and floating in space at a set distance. What Magic Leap purports to do is make you think you’re seeing a real 3-D object on top of the real world."

Good stereoscopic 3D does not give a sensation of seeing something flat and floating in space at a set distance.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#27

Post by arxpoetica »

nl wrote: post #22

At $500M it isn't an investment expecting a return, it's money to block other companies buying it.

If the technology is as significant as it appears to be, doesn't it reach into enough billion (and trillion?) dollar industries? The investment in this kind of technology isn't just about gaming or Hollywood.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#28

Post by mwilcox »

mmoss wrote: post #14
Alain-lf wrote: post #7

A whole lot of money for a whole lot of buzzword but no information in sight... Magic Leap's own website has even less information. "On Oculus Rift and pretty much every other virtual and augmented reality experience, what the viewer sees is flat and floating in space at a set distance." I was under the impression that the Oculus Rift had full stereoscopic 3d? Either I'm wrong or this article is wrong.

The Oculus Rift has full stereoscopic 3D. I think he may have misspoken. Just speculating, but maybe Magic Leap has some sort of eye tracking.

Light field displays literally show a different image to one part of your retina than another. It is not incorrect to explain that technologies like the rift are 'flat', as, while they may show two images, they are simply flat images on a display. Light field tech combines an array of images that recreates the way light works in reality.

Light field displays are to the Rift like the Rift is to a 3DTV.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#29

Post by mwilcox »

rjvir wrote: post #15

$500M sounds like a typo. That is absolutely unheard of for a stealth company. For reference, Oculus had a $75M round last December, and they had ignited an entire VR developer community. Uber had a record setting round earlier this year and raised $1.2 billion. But Uber is... well, Uber.

They already raised $50mil Series A in February, it doesn't seem that unrealistic. Remember, a typical film budget for these guys easily breaks into the hundreds of millions.

Re: Google May Lead $500M Round in Magic Leap Virtual Reality Tech

#30

Post by akiselev »

arxpoetica wrote: post #27
nl wrote: post #22

At $500M it isn't an investment expecting a return, it's money to block other companies buying it.

If the technology is as significant as it appears to be, doesn't it reach into enough billion (and trillion?) dollar industries? The investment in this kind of technology isn't just about gaming or Hollywood.

It's about gaming and entertainment because that is by far the biggest, most visible market with the most ROI in hardware and software. The upfront investment and man power required to push a technology from early adopters to widespread adoption isn't usually trivial. Just like gaming pushed scientific research to new heights by commoditizing GPUs, VR gaming will be just a big a boon for all industries.
Post reply on HN