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The technology has been deemed exciting enough for Google to have invested around $500 million, but until now, details about how Magic Leap actually works has remained a mystery. 

Now, an extensive patent has not only shown how the augmented reality headset could look and work, it also provides a number of example uses for the secretive technology. 

Its Florida-based makers said it is a realistic version of virtual and augmented reality, which it calls 'cinematic reality', and it could revolutionise how people shop, watch TV and even how doctors operate.  

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Until now, very few details about the Florida-based technology had been revealed. The patent shows that, in terms of design, the headset resembles skiing goggles, connected to a battery pack. It connects to a network, which then connects to a so-called 'passable world model.' This model is created using a database of objects

In October, Magic Leap announced it had raised $542 million in a funding round, led by Google. 

Other investors included Qualcomm, the world's leading phone chipmaker, Andreessen Horowitz, KKR, and Legendary Entertainment.

The patent was filed in July 2014 by chief executive Rony Abovitz, and was awarded earlier this week. 

It features a total of 180 pages and drawings detailing the look, functionality and uses for the device. 

In terms of design, the headset resembles skiing goggles, connected to a battery pack. 

The headset connects to a network, which then connects to a so-called 'passable world model.' 

This model is created using a database of objects and 'object recognisers'. 

Sensors can also track the wearer's location and position, to make sure images are overlaid on the real world as accurately as possible, with the correct depth and proportions. 

Buttons on the visor could act like a 'home screen', to take wearers to menus, for example.

 While other sensors could recognise finger commands such as focus, copy, select, back or cancel, and right clicks. 

Mr Abovitz said last February that his company's mission was to 'develop and commercialise...the most natural and human-friendly wearable computing interface in the world.'

Further into the patent, a number of case uses are shown in the form of drawings. 

In one, a mother and child are in a supermarket, and a virtual version of their shopping list appears on the trolley.

Following the same usage case, the headset could turn shopping into a game for the child, in which characters are located in the veg aisle, for example, or monsters jump out from behind tins. 

Other drawings show a man watching sport on his TV, with scores, player ratings and other related content appearing on virtual menus in front of him. 

The headset could also turn everyday tasks into games, such as chopping a cucumber, seen in another drawing.  

Magic Leap's Florida-based makers said it is a realistic version of virtual and augmented reality, which it calls 'cinematic reality'. The firm's website features an elephant (pictured) moving realistically in a person's hands

Sensors can track the wearer's location and position, to make sure images are overlaid on the real world as accurately as possible. Buttons on the visor could act like a 'home screen', to take wearers to menus, for example. While other sensors could recognise finger commands such as focus, copy, select and back 

Further into the patent, a number of case uses are shown in the form of drawings. One shows a man watching sport on TV, with scores, player ratings and other related content appearing on virtual menus in front of him

And, in hospitals, surgeons could wear the headset during surgeries to locate specific areas of a heart, for example, or follow step-by-step guidelines on a virtual screen.

As part of Google's investment, Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps at the search engine, will join Magic Leap's board. 

Paul Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm, will join Magic Leap's board as an observer. 

An example image, showing the blurring of a fantastical virtual reality object and the real world produced by the technology, is pictured. As part of Google's investment, Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps at the search engine, will join Magic Leap's board

In another patent drawing, a mother and child are in a supermarket with a virtual version of their shopping list on the trolley (left). The headset could also turn shopping into a game for the child, in which characters are located in the veg aisle, for example, or monsters jump out from behind tins (right)

In hospitals, surgeons could wear the headset during surgeries to locate specific areas of a heart, for example, or follow step-by-step guidelines on a virtual screen (pictured)

Mr Abovitz recently said: 'We have the term 'cinematic reality' because we are disassociated with those things.

'When you see this, you will see that this is computing for the next 30 or 40 years.

'To go farther and deeper than we're going, you would be changing what it means to be human.'

The soon-to-be defunct Google Glass, already lets users see augmented reality. 

Using a particular app for example, runners can wear the glasses to see monsters chasing them.

The Magic Leap patent shows how its headset could be used in a similar way by cyclists, for example.

The headset could also turn everyday tasks into games, such as chopping a cucumber, as illustrated in another patent drawing (pictured). The patent was filed in July 2014 and awarded earlier this week

The soon-to-be defunct Google Glass already lets users see augmented reality. Using a particular app for example, runners can wear the glasses to see monsters chasing them. The Magic Leap patent also shows how its headset could be used in a similar way by cyclists, for example (pictured) 

Magic Leap's system claims to be more realistic than the Oculus Rift (pictured). The firm was bought last year by Facebook for $2 billion, and gamers are waiting for a consumer version of the headset to be launched

Google Glass also superimposes information on the periphery of a wearer's vision.

Facebook spent $2 billion buying Oculus last year, which makes a virtual reality headset, mostly aimed at gamers.

Unlike Magic Leap's future device, it blocks out the real world around the user.

Gamers hope Facebook and Google's involvement in the virtual reality space will accelerate the technology, which would make playing games and watching films more realistic, as well as creating other immersive experiences.

A release date and price for the Magic Leap headset have not been revealed. 

While it is not clear exactly what form the technology will take, it could be added to future versions of smart glasses (Google Glass pictured). A release date and price for the headset have not been revealed

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