Magic Leap and ILMxLAB are bringing Star Wars to your living room, as literally as you can get without walking onto a film set.
In this case, “literally” means “virtual reality,” but that doesn’t make the experience any less authentic. In fact, virtual reality as Magic Leap and ILMxLAB imagine it will allow you to immerse yourself in the Star Wars universe without leaving your living room (via Wired).
Take a look at a demo video created by the two companies which makes C-3PO and R2-D2 appear before your eyes.
If you read the text at the bottom of the video, you’ll know there was no special effects magic done in a computer to create the droids or the holograms. It was shot with Magic Leap technology, which is as yet still undisclosed; apparently they and Lucasfilm aren’t yet ready to reveal what cool tricks they’ve got up their sleeves.
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The Magic Leap startup company was already developing revolutionary VR technology when ILMxLAB co-founder John Gaeta discovered them in 2013 or 2014 (via Wired). He was impressed by what they were working on (though, again, little detail is given as to what exactly they were working on) and the two companies formed a partnership by January 2015.
The nature of what Gaeta saw as he described it implies there might not be any VR goggles involved in Magic Leap’s VR experiences. Gaeta told Wired, “I was able to look at a computer-generated construct, focus along the length of it at any point, and it would abide by my natural eye focus.” The droids you see in the video, then, along with the holograms, aren’t just images projected onto a camera surface. They are, somehow, actually there.
Can you believe the age we live in? Yes, there are a lot of terrible things happening in the world, but there are also wonderful advancements being made, like virtual reality and being able to go on a Star Wars adventure without leaving the house. It’s breathtaking and exciting, and we can only hope Magic Leap’s technology will soon be available for Star Wars fans to play with.
Next: Giant Screens Used To Film X-Wing Scenes In Rogue One
All that’s left to say is, “Give it to me now!”