Magic Leap & XR Compilation
A select compilation of my current articles and postings on Magic Leap and XR. I am (kind of) working on a book of sorts — mostly about my experiences building human-interactive haptic robots (MAKO Surgical), spatial computing/XR (Magic Leap), and a bit on my next adventures into the future (Sun and Thunder, SynthBee).
A small bit on the Magic Leap Jumping Whale In the Gymnasium:
The whale jumping in the gym has been one of the iconic images associated with Magic Leap, and also one of the most mangled and misunderstood. I will try to clear it up.
(1) We worked with Lucasfilm’s team (ILM XLab and others) to develop a really cool concept visual and mini-short film that represented a vision of what spatial computing/XR could be and would be. That was the original video we put out. It was meant to inspire.
(2) We created a team at Magic Leap called IPL (our blend of Disney’s Imagineering and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab). John Gaeta (who won an Academy Award for his role on The Matrix) led IPL, and one of his team’s goals was to build the working versions of our early concept visions on our actual working hardware. John, Producer Naomi Augustine-Yee, the IPL team (and others at Magic Leap) showcased the actual whale experience to hundreds (maybe thousands) of people at the University of Miami gym during the fall of 2018 (we were doing a multi-day showcase for the students and faculty). They added amazing sound and wind effects, so you really felt the whale (at giant scale) smash down through the floor. It was an amazing location based experience (LBX) proof — one that could inform many future LBX experiences. It really happened, to the extent that XR is real.
R. Abovitz
November 10th, 2022
Earth
