American tech company Magic Leap is on a mission to "create a world where the digital and physical are one" – and recently, it's unveiled new upgrades that continue to realise that vision.
Around a year has passed since the company's hugely successful Magic Leap 2 device made it into Time magazine's list of 2022's top 200 inventions.
Not wanting to stop there, Magic Leap has been busy behind the scenes developing a pretty impressive list of new, improved, industry-ready features for the award-winning device.
Keeping businesses firmly at the forefront of its mind, Magic Leap hopes that its updates will "extend our commitment to enterprise customers and push the boundaries of enterprise AR". It claims that these new capabilities of the Magic Leap 2 will enable "greater collaboration and productivity, deeper immersion, and easier development".
With the update being announced at the beginning of August 2023, let's recap these new features and find out what they could mean for your business.
Designed to take remote collaboration to a new level, Magic Leap's brand new AR cloud is the feature that everyone's talking about.
As an enterprise account holder, you'll now be able to create, access and manage an unlimited number of "shared spaces" – a feature which allows employees on the ground to map, save and share their surroundings with any connected member of their team. Multiple users will have the ability to view scans and merge shared data from wherever they are stationed.
The new AR Cloud services also come with an upgraded allowance of more than 10,000m² of spatial maps (compared to the previous ~250m², limited to just five "local spaces"). This makes large-scale digital twin management easier than ever.
The update will also give staff the ability to access collective digital content, which can be overlaid on their surroundings in real time – meaning more effective visualisation, better productivity and a reduction in travel expenses.
Native web browser
Included in this update is a new native web browser for Magic Leap 2. As well as enabling access to web and WebXR content, the new browser also allows users to host WebRTC video conferencing and share content via Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.
This increased streaming power can enhance collaboration and "see-what-I-see" capabilities in any enterprise. The new browser does what every good browser should, providing easy navigation through online sessions, supported downloads and a display resolution of 1065x616 pixels.
Easier application porting
Magic Leap aims to make the Magic Leap 2 the "easiest device to develop and port to" – so they're working hard alongside MRTK and Unity to make it easier than ever to port applications to the device. This is great news for developers.
The increased portability of data and software means businesses will be able to roll out new systems with ease into a wider range of environments without having to spend time and money on training staff in new software stacks.
Magic Leap has said the MRTK 2.8 package includes:
Improved hand-tracking
Designed for a smoother hand-tracking experience and more intuitive interactions within mixed reality environments, Magic Leap's latest update also sees a notable advance in the device's hand-tracking abilities.
The upgrade has been developed to work in varying lighting conditions to suit the needs of all kinds of field environments. There is even a new "wrist tap" feature – users can tap their index finger on their opposing wrist to bring up the home menu, making navigation quick and simple.
Advanced dynamic dimming
More improvements to the device can be seen in its "dynamic dimming" technology which has already been hugely beneficial to many sectors.
Magic Leap has already been able to boast that this device is the industry's first AR device to feature in-built dimmers in the optical stack. Updates to the software now help build on this technology and allow for automatic adjustments based on surrounding light conditions.
Dynamic dimming can dim the entire field of view or selected areas where digital data is overlaid – making mixed reality accessible to staff working outdoors or in very bright conditions like operating rooms.
Greater quality mixed reality capture updates
This is another element of the Magic Leap 2 that targets enterprises by bringing frontline workers closer and more clearly in contact with other members of their team. Magic Leap's "Capture" feature allows users to take and share 2D shots of their mixed reality experience – both real-world and digital content.
The enhanced Capture features help make collaborative data clearer than ever with the option to adjust camera exposure, lighting conditions, background tint and more. The new update has meant better quality photographs and improved camera control for users.
Said "screenshots" can now be easily shared on TVs, monitors and other screens thanks to Magic Leap's introduction of its "Miracast" service. Staff can now easily transfer "see-what-I-see" content to wherever it's needed.
Want to know more?
Magic Leap is a leading developer of mixed reality devices that has focused on creating smart glasses for enterprises since 2010. It summarises the Magic Leap 2 smart glasses as "maintain[ing] its users' actual view of their working environment while seamlessly integrating intelligent, behaviourally realistic digital content within their field of view."
It's a device that's designed for remote collaboration, assistance and training, visualisation and more – an invaluable tool for everyone from rig workers to neurosurgeons.
With the latest updates making for increased productivity and better collaboration, there's no better time to add Magic Leap to your workforce.
Expand Reality is a specialist, UK-based XR hardware supplier. Want to find out more about Magic Leap 2? Browse our web store or sign up for a free demonstration.