In a bid to advertise its technology to a wider audience, Magic Leap is entering the realm of location-based entertainment. At its developer conference in Los Angeles, United States last week, Magic Leap demonstrated its first LBE application for Magic Leap, called The Navigator, a robotic vehicle created by arts and entertainment firm Meow Wolf, which users can interact with via touch screens and superimposed AR images.
The Navigator in action at Magic Leap’s developer conference. Image: Meow Wolf
At the conference, Magic Leap chief content officer Rio Caraeff told Variety, “We think that market, those location-based experiences, is huge”. At a forthcoming Meow Wolf exhibition in Denver, United States, scheduled to open in 2020, visitors will be able to interact with the various art pieces using AR via Magic Leap hardware.
Following the announcement of Star Wars: Project Porg, an in-home experience developed by Magic Leap and Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB, it has come to light that the two companies also collaborated on a much larger location-based Star Wars experience, whereby a warehouse next to Magic Leap’s headquarters was transformed into the ice planet Hoth, using augmented reality and sensory technology. Caraeff commented, “We did it with controlling the light, controlling the wind, controlling the sound, controlling the temperature, and it made it feel more real”.
Last week, Oculus put the feelers out for a location-based VR specialist in an online job advert, indicating that the company is planning to expand its presence in the market.
