Magic Leap teardown reveals the complexities of mixed reality

After years of waiting, Magic Leap released its mixed reality headset earlier this month. The Magic Leap One Creator Edition isn't quite a consumer-facing device -- instead, it comes bundled with several 'preview experiences' meant to inspire folks who want to make their own apps for the device's mixed reality OS. Now that the community's had a bit of time with the headset, Ifixit has torn one apart, giving us an inside look at the device that's been a big mystery.

First, the specs. The Creator Edition is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra X2 "Parker" SoC with a pair of Denver 2.0 64-bit cores and a quartet of ARM Cortex A57 64-bit cores, as well as an integrated Pascal-based GPU. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage, a USB-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack and connections to Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi. All of these are packed in the hockey puck-like Lightpack, which handles power and processing.

This connects via cable to the Lightwear headset, which has a sensor array on the outside of each lens. The box hanging under the right side turns out to be an EM sensor. This emits magnetic fields and compares them to those generated by the handheld controller to track the latter's position and orientation. The headset uses an infrared projector in the nose bridge to sense depth and four IR LEDs in each lens to illuminate your eyes for the system to track their movement.

Now let's get to how the whole 'mixed reality' thing even works. Each lens contains a waveguide 'display' area made of six laminated layers with slight air gaps inbetween each, Ifixit found; Each catches different RGB hues at the correct microscopically different distance to produce a sensible picture. The light-and-optics system -- a set of RGB LEDs on each side projects light on to a liquid crystal display that translates it into an image, which then flows through lensesand on to said waveguide. It's a complex process, but Ifixit's diagram is a helpful overview:

Those are the basics, though Ifixit's guide also explores things like cabling and cooling, if you wanted an even deeper dive. It's good to see the insides of the production-level model after so long in development. If you're sold on the headset and want to start cranking out your own apps, good news: Magic Leap is planning a developer conference in LA on October 9th and 10th with partnership announcements and on-stage demonstrations.

Source: Ifixit



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2NcUSG7
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more