Magic Leap raises $542m from Google and others for its 'cinematic reality' system
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Facebook may have bought Oculus Rift, but now Google is splashing out virtual reality technology too.
The search giant is leading a $542m investment in Magic Leap, which claims to have invented a realistic version of virtual and augmented reality, dubbed 'cinematic reality'.
The Florida-based firm's website features a little elephant moving around realistically in a person's hands, to show off their capabilities.
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Google is reportedly set to invest $500 million (£314 million) in Magic Leap, which claims to be a realistic version of virtual and augmented reality, dubbed 'cinematic reality'. The Florida-based firm's website features a little elephant (pictured) moving around realistically in a person's hands, to show what it can do
Magic Leap said it raised $542 million in a funding round led by Google Inc.
Little is known about Magic Leap's product, but founder and CEO Rony Abovitz said in February that his company's mission was to 'develop and commercialize.. the most natural and human-friendly wearable computing interface in the world.'
Investors in the latest round included Qualcomm Inc , the world's No.1 mobile phone chipmaker, Andreessen Horowitz, KKR and Legendary Entertainment.
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps at Google, will join Magic Leap's board. Paul Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm, will join Magic Leap's board as an observer.
Gamers hope that 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.
Magic Leap's system claims to be more realistic than the Oculus Rift (pictured). The firm was acquired earlier this year by Facebook for $2 billion, and gamers are waiting for a consumer version of the virtual reality headset to be launched
Very few details about the technology have been revealed, aside from saying it offers a more realistic experience than Oculus Rift.
Mr Abovitz told The South Florida Business Journal that virtual reality and augmented reality are old terms, with a largely disappointing history.
'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.'
It is likely that the device will show wearers hi-resolution images close to their face, by projecting pictures onto the eye. Viewers will probably see different angles and depths when they adjust their focus.
This would be beneficial because Magic Leap could mix virtual reality images with the real world.
While it is not clear what form the technology takes, Mr Abovitz has previously said that he hopes it could one day be built into a pair of glasses, in which case, Google may aim on incorporating 'cinematic reality' into future iterations of Google Glass.
It is likely that the device will show wearers hi-resolution images close to their face, by projecting pictures onto the eye. Viewers will probably see different angles and depths when they adjust their focus. An image showing the burring of a fantastical virtual reality object and the real world produced by the company is pictured
The smart spectacles already enable users to access augmented reality elements. Using a particular app for example, runners can wear the glasses to see monsters chasing them.
The glasses also superimpose information on the periphery of a wearer's vision.
Facebook spent $2 billion buying Oculus earlier this 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.
While it is not clear what form the technology takes, Mr Abovitz has previously said that he hopes it could one day be built into a pair of glasses, in which case, Google may aim on incorporating 'cinematic reality' into future iterations of Google Glass (pictured)
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