Star Wars studio teams with Magic Leap to debut mixed reality project
Another veil of mystery fell away from "mixed reality" company Magic Leap on Thursday as it announced a strategic partnership with Lucasfilm, the company behind the Star Wars franchise.
And to kick that partnership off, Lucasfilm's ILMxLAB (a branch of the company devoted to developing immersive content) posted a stunning video demonstration of the technology at work using two of the most iconic film characters ever, Star Wars droids R2D2 and C-3PO.
Holographic images of the two droids are shown entering a room as a real person exits that room. Then, as the two droids talk to one another, it becomes apparent that the holograms are actually being represented in correct spatial relationship to the furniture around them. Holographic R2D2 then rolls over to a real desk and looks at its surface as yet another holographic terrain map rises from the surface of the desk.
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The imagery makes it easy to believe the video is the result of enhanced visual effects, which is why a note that appears on the video throughout is important: "Shot directly through Magic Leap technology. No special effects or compositing were used in the creation of this video."
"At Lucasfilm and ILM, innovation has always been in our DNA," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a joint statement released by Lucasfilm and Magic Leap. "Through this collaboration, ILMxLAB further propels our legacy of exploration and leadership on this new platform for experiential storytelling."
Although no specific product was announced, the two companies did reveal a new collaborative effort to develop mixed reality content, which will be housed on Lucasfilm's San Francisco campus.
"Lucasfilm has created some of the most iconic characters of our time," Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz said in a statement emailed to Mashable. "Ones that dare us to dream, unlock our imagination and excite us to go on a journey with them. Magic Leap is creating a whole new medium: Mixed Reality Lightfields, designed to harness the power of your imagination and take you to places you never thought possible. Collaboration between our two companies is a perfect fit, and I can't wait to share the results with the world."
And while it's still difficult gauge exactly how incredibly Magic Leap's technology is without a first-hand view, if the video revealed today is indeed close to the real experience of using the technology, all the secretive hype and investment around the company's virtual-reality-meets-augmented reality technology may be warranted. As more footage leaks out, it's clear that we'll find out soon what the technology is like, possibly through a story involving the beloved characters of Star Wars.
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