Magic Leap usually likes to keep its augmented reality tinkering under wraps, but the company showcased its tech in action during the Wired Business Conference in New York City.
Combining digital and real-world elements – a technique generally known as augmented reality, although increasingly referred to as mixed reality – Magic Leap’s short demo brought Star Wars’ R2D2 and C-3PO into a real-life living room.
The clip shows the two droid projecting their own hologram onto a coffee table. Impressively, R2D2’s digital body is cut off by the physical table. The video notes that the footage is “shot directly through Magic Leap technology. No special effects or compositing were used in the creation of this video.”
The demo is the result of a partnership between Magic Leap and Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB. The two companies revealed that they would be continuing to develop Star Wars-related material, although neither mentioned specific projects. To do this, the pair will be founding a joint lab at ILM’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Little is known about Magic Leap, and there’s nothing in the way of a release date for a consumer version of the technology, but Star Wars is a hefty brand to put behind it – one that bodes well in terms of industry confidence.
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
