Abovitz imagines lots of experiences for Magic Leap. A consumer might be shopping for a car and, with Magic Leap, could see that car right in their driveway and swap out the colors in real time.
Or imagine browsing for a pair of shoes online and seeing what the shoes look like in 3D right on your desk.
Magic Leap’s technology enables those experiences, but it still needs developers to create them.
A group inside the company called Imagination Factory (or “IF” for short), can help businesses solve problems, too. Abovitz said people around the world might be worried about artificial intelligence replacing their jobs, but that Magic Leap can help keep those jobs intact.
“That’s the most important theme we are bringing in,” he said. “When you have a human working with AI, they always beat the AI. That’s super powerful.”
He cited his previous start-up, MAKO, which made robotic arms to help doctors perform surgery. “That was my combo at MAKO — robotics and a surgeon. We can make people into superheroes. They have heightened sensing, intelligence and can see and do things better. Whether that’s an athlete or a business person.”
Abovitz also said that intelligent assistants will play a big role in Magic Leap’s future. I didn’t get to test one, but Abovitz says he’s working with a team in Los Angeles that’s developer high-definition people that will appear to Magic Leap users and assist with tasks. Think Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant, but instead of speaking to your phone, you’d be speaking to a realistic-looking human through Magic Leap. Or you might be speaking to an avatar of someone real.
“You might need a doctor who can come to you,” Abovitz said. “AI that appears in front of you can give you eye contact and empathy.”
