A Sneak Peek Into Augmented Reality Of The Future

A technology startup company just offered a look into the future with the release of a Magic Leap video that shows what augmented reality game play might look like. The video, titled “Just Another Day In The Office,” shows mundane office holographic images that pop up as a user scrolls through a menu selecting a YouTube video and then a Gmail inbox. But then, things get a lot cooler.

A first-person shooter game called Victory launches right in the office, prompting holographic enemies to appear, which the user picks off with a digital laser weapon. The player earns a sentry to help him with his attackers, then a huge tank busts through the office wall. The user cries out “whoa,” and then the video ends. Whoa is right.

Right now, the company isn’t saying if the video is a representation of an actual software project or just of an ingenious idea. Magic Leap released the video after cancelling two recent appearances. The company’s CEO, Rony Abovitz, posted the video with an apology for canceling his scheduled talk at this year’s TED conference; right around the time of this cancellation, one of the company’s game developers also abruptly cancelled a Reddit AMA session.

Those cancellations and this newly released video add to the air of mystery that surrounds Magic Leap. While the Google-backed startup, which is also backed by the likes of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Legendary Entertainment, has funding upwards of $542 million, this is the first time the public has really gotten a glimpse into what exactly the company is working on, CNN Money reports.

The video launches with what looks more or less an average-looking day at the office.

Then the game starts up.

The user picks a weapon.

And robots descend.

But while the video is awesome, it doesn't quite answer the question of what Magic Leap is all about. In fact, some have struggled to pin down an exact description of what the company even is exactly. The company’s website offers this description:

Magic Leap is an eclectic group of visionaries, rocket scientists, wizards, and gurus from the fields of film, robotics, visualization, software, computing, and user experience.

Last year, Magic Leap got the Internet pretty darn jazzed when it released a futuristic video of an elephant floating in the palm of a person’s hand. But if that video was jaw dropping, this video is even more impressive. However, The Verge points out that this isn’t the first time the public hasn’t gotten some big promises from augmented reality companies that haven’t panned out. So they’re waiting on some more news — or even a demo — before they get too excited.

But there’s no harm in watching the video and imagining an awesome possibility of the future. That future will probably be here before we know it. Take a look:

Images: YouTube (5)