6 ms·

This is notable not just because of Neal Stephenson, but because his blog post contains what I think is the most detailed public description of the tech so far:

This is notable not just because of Neal Stephenson, but because his blog post contains what I think is the most detailed public description of the tech so far: --- Here’s where you’re probably expecting the sales pitch about how mind-blowingly awesome the demo was. But it’s a little more interesting than that. Yes, I saw something on that optical table I had never seen before--something that only Magic Leap, as far as I know, is capable of doing. And it was pretty cool. But what fascinated me wasn’t what Magic Leap had done but rather what it was about to start doing. Magic Leap is mustering an arsenal of techniques--some tried and true, others unbelievably advanced--to produce a synthesized light field that falls upon the retina in the same way as light reflected from real objects in your environment. Depth perception, in this system, isn’t just a trick played on the brain by showing it two slightly different images. Most of the work to be done is in applied physics, with a sizable dollop of biology--for there’s no way to make this happen without an intimate understanding of how the eye sees, and the brain assembles a three-dimensional model of reality. I’m fascinated by the science, but not qualified to work on it. Where I hope I can be of use is in thinking about what to do with this tech once it is available to the general public. "Chief Futurist" runs the risk of being a disembodied brain on a stick. I took the job on the understanding that I would have the opportunity to get a few things done. ---

aetherson 12y ago
One of the things that's interesting to me about that quote is the phrase "optical table." I think that there's a presumption (that I've shared) that Magic Leap is trying to make AR goggles or glasses. But, as has been extensively commented upon in the past, that's just crazy. We're just barely at the point of doing semi-decent VR (Oculus Rift) and just barely at the point of doing semi-decent wearable heads-up displays (Google Glass). The idea that Magic Leap could in any foreseeable timeframe create a device that has all the virtues of the Rift + Glass + A huge dose of additional technology on top of both is just laughable. But if they're trying for something much heavier-weight, like the ability to create convincing illusions not in the form-factor of "some goggles," but rather, "a specially prepared room and table," then that's maybe a little more realistic -- and of course less obviously revolutionary.
- chton 12y ago
  It could also be far more revolutionary. They make it sound like they invented a small-scale holodeck. If that is the case, no matter how it works, or how limited it is, the potential is huge. Realistic holograms would be a major step forwards in connecting computers to humans.
  - rhaker 12y ago
    i think the major issue is going to be power. the battery requirements for processing a small-scale holodeck will be huge. making something portable that lasts for a sufficient time is going to require an energy breakthrough
- matthewmcg 12y ago
  I think you should read this as "what they are doing in the lab." An "optical table" is to optical technologies as a solderless breadboard is to electronics. Basically, it's a big, stable platform with lots of threaded holes of a standard size and pitch for attaching lasers, mirrors, etc. Most have some kind of pneumatic isolation or damping to keep vibrations from being transmitted from the floor. Things like interference phenomena are sensitive to displacements of a few nanometers, so you really don't want things like passing trucks to ruin your experiments! Examples here: http://www.newport.com/Optical-Table-Selection-Guide/140219/1033/content.aspx http://www.newport.com/Optical-Table-Selection-Guide/140219/...
  - aetherson 12y ago
    This got lost between my brain and my previous message, but yes, I agree, that's the most likely explanation. But I mention the "they're trying to build like the equivalent of the early table-based Microsoft Surface (before that meant a tablet), but pseudo-holographic instead" idea just because it's so unbelievable to me that stand-alone goggles can possibly deliver what they're claiming.
    - bri3d 12y ago
      Stand-alone goggles make more sense than a table, because they're closer to the eye and can more directly manipulate what the user sees. If you read through the depths of Magic Leap's site combined with their patent applications, it becomes clear that they are trying to develop a set of goggles which combines some form of projection onto the retina [0] with some form of selective blocking [1] (to give contrast, and prevent the projected images from appearing as hazy mirages over the light otherwise reaching the retina). Especially the blocking would be impossible to achieve with anything but goggles. [0]: https://www.google.com/patents/US20140071539 https://www.google.com/patents/US20140071539 [1]: https://www.google.com/patents/US20130128230 https://www.google.com/patents/US20130128230
tomp 12y ago
Stupid question: Who is Neal Stephenson, and why is he famous? Wikipedia suggests that he's a sci-fi author, is there a particular reason for his fame, could you recommend some of his works?
- a3n 12y ago
  Stephenson's post mentions Snow Crash. Start there.
- Florin_Andrei 12y ago
  Snow Crash for old school howling-metal cyberpunk. The Baroque Cycle for a semi-fictional view of the beginnings of science - the Newton and Hooke era. Anathem for an interesting take on the philosophy of science disguised as a sci-fi epic.
  - RickHull 12y ago
    All are fantastic. I was put off by the beginning of Snow Crash initially, as there are some tongue-in-cheek bits that struck me as too campy. But I might not say that now, having read it a few times. The Baroque Cycle is a massive piece of work spanning 3 volumes, comprised of 8 nominally independent books. If it seems intimidating, just try the first one and see if you're not hooked. I'd love it if there was twice as much material. Anathem is by far my favorite. Its hooks take longer to set, but for me they set much deeper. There is a lot going on in this book, and it will truly blow your mind if you let it.
    - mattmanser 12y ago
      I'm reading Snow Crash at the moment for the first time. The beginning is actually really tough going as a completely new reader today. It's just so ridiculous. I can see where he was coming from, as I grew up in that era, but it's actually pretty bizarre now given the reality is nation states, religion and banks turned out to be so much more powerful than corporations. Which is one of the perils of predictions in ageing sci-fi. I've been on a sci-fi kick recently of all the classics I never read (William Gibson, Ender's Game, The Mars Trilogy, Forever War, Starship Troopers, A Canticle For Leibowitz, Philip K. Dick, Hyperion Cantos, Ringworld) and re-reading some I've not read for a long time (Foundation Series). I personally found that Snow Crash is by far the most dated book. Even Ringworld and the foundation series were better.
double0jimb0 12y ago
On "how... the brain assembles a three-dimensional model of reality": I was recently pulled into the wormhole of present day speculations (science??) on this. And wow, sounds like what they are working on may yield real, new understanding on cognition and consciousness. One of the entertaining reads: "Space, self, and the theater of consciousness" by Trehub http://people.umass.edu/trehub/YCCOG828%20copy.pdf http://people.umass.edu/trehub/YCCOG828%20copy.pdf
smegel 12y ago
Now all we need is Class V Star Cruiser to put it in.
scoot 12y ago
> his blog post contains what I think is the most detailed public description of the tech so far Gizmodo would beg to differ: http://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new-alternate-rea-1660441103?utm_content=bufferb8afe&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer http://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new...

aetherson 12y ago

One of the things that's interesting to me about that quote is the phrase "optical table." I think that there's a presumption (that I've shared) that Magic Leap is trying to make AR goggles or glasses. But, as has been extensively commented upon in the past, that's just crazy. We're just barely at the point of doing semi-decent VR (Oculus Rift) and just barely at the point of doing semi-decent wearable heads-up displays (Google Glass). The idea that Magic Leap could in any foreseeable timeframe create a device that has all the virtues of the Rift + Glass + A huge dose of additional technology on top of both is just laughable. But if they're trying for something much heavier-weight, like the ability to create convincing illusions not in the form-factor of "some goggles," but rather, "a specially prepared room and table," then that's maybe a little more realistic -- and of course less obviously revolutionary.

chton 12y ago
It could also be far more revolutionary. They make it sound like they invented a small-scale holodeck. If that is the case, no matter how it works, or how limited it is, the potential is huge. Realistic holograms would be a major step forwards in connecting computers to humans.
- rhaker 12y ago
  i think the major issue is going to be power. the battery requirements for processing a small-scale holodeck will be huge. making something portable that lasts for a sufficient time is going to require an energy breakthrough
matthewmcg 12y ago
I think you should read this as "what they are doing in the lab." An "optical table" is to optical technologies as a solderless breadboard is to electronics. Basically, it's a big, stable platform with lots of threaded holes of a standard size and pitch for attaching lasers, mirrors, etc. Most have some kind of pneumatic isolation or damping to keep vibrations from being transmitted from the floor. Things like interference phenomena are sensitive to displacements of a few nanometers, so you really don't want things like passing trucks to ruin your experiments! Examples here: http://www.newport.com/Optical-Table-Selection-Guide/140219/1033/content.aspx http://www.newport.com/Optical-Table-Selection-Guide/140219/...
- aetherson 12y ago
  This got lost between my brain and my previous message, but yes, I agree, that's the most likely explanation. But I mention the "they're trying to build like the equivalent of the early table-based Microsoft Surface (before that meant a tablet), but pseudo-holographic instead" idea just because it's so unbelievable to me that stand-alone goggles can possibly deliver what they're claiming.
  - bri3d 12y ago
    Stand-alone goggles make more sense than a table, because they're closer to the eye and can more directly manipulate what the user sees. If you read through the depths of Magic Leap's site combined with their patent applications, it becomes clear that they are trying to develop a set of goggles which combines some form of projection onto the retina [0] with some form of selective blocking [1] (to give contrast, and prevent the projected images from appearing as hazy mirages over the light otherwise reaching the retina). Especially the blocking would be impossible to achieve with anything but goggles. [0]: https://www.google.com/patents/US20140071539 https://www.google.com/patents/US20140071539 [1]: https://www.google.com/patents/US20130128230 https://www.google.com/patents/US20130128230

tomp 12y ago

Stupid question: Who is Neal Stephenson, and why is he famous? Wikipedia suggests that he's a sci-fi author, is there a particular reason for his fame, could you recommend some of his works?

a3n 12y ago
Stephenson's post mentions Snow Crash. Start there.
Florin_Andrei 12y ago
Snow Crash for old school howling-metal cyberpunk. The Baroque Cycle for a semi-fictional view of the beginnings of science - the Newton and Hooke era. Anathem for an interesting take on the philosophy of science disguised as a sci-fi epic.
- RickHull 12y ago
  All are fantastic. I was put off by the beginning of Snow Crash initially, as there are some tongue-in-cheek bits that struck me as too campy. But I might not say that now, having read it a few times. The Baroque Cycle is a massive piece of work spanning 3 volumes, comprised of 8 nominally independent books. If it seems intimidating, just try the first one and see if you're not hooked. I'd love it if there was twice as much material. Anathem is by far my favorite. Its hooks take longer to set, but for me they set much deeper. There is a lot going on in this book, and it will truly blow your mind if you let it.
  - mattmanser 12y ago
    I'm reading Snow Crash at the moment for the first time. The beginning is actually really tough going as a completely new reader today. It's just so ridiculous. I can see where he was coming from, as I grew up in that era, but it's actually pretty bizarre now given the reality is nation states, religion and banks turned out to be so much more powerful than corporations. Which is one of the perils of predictions in ageing sci-fi. I've been on a sci-fi kick recently of all the classics I never read (William Gibson, Ender's Game, The Mars Trilogy, Forever War, Starship Troopers, A Canticle For Leibowitz, Philip K. Dick, Hyperion Cantos, Ringworld) and re-reading some I've not read for a long time (Foundation Series). I personally found that Snow Crash is by far the most dated book. Even Ringworld and the foundation series were better.

double0jimb0 12y ago

On "how... the brain assembles a three-dimensional model of reality": I was recently pulled into the wormhole of present day speculations (science??) on this. And wow, sounds like what they are working on may yield real, new understanding on cognition and consciousness. One of the entertaining reads: "Space, self, and the theater of consciousness" by Trehub http://people.umass.edu/trehub/YCCOG828%20copy.pdf http://people.umass.edu/trehub/YCCOG828%20copy.pdf

smegel 12y ago

Now all we need is Class V Star Cruiser to put it in.

scoot 12y ago

> his blog post contains what I think is the most detailed public description of the tech so far Gizmodo would beg to differ: http://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new-alternate-rea-1660441103?utm_content=bufferb8afe&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer http://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new...