Magic Leap robot
A still from the Magic Leap demo video.

Virtual reality may be the next big thing, with the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and even Google Cardboard bringing digital three-dimensional worlds to life. But all that may just be a stepping stone to augmented or blended reality. Microsoft is the most visible player in the space with the HoloLens, but if a new demo from Alphabet-backed Magic Leap is to be believed, the competition may be steep.

The new video from Florida-based Magic Leap shows off what the company is calling “mixed reality.” In one shot, a robotic digital gremlin hovers under a desk, realistically obscured by the legs of the desk and shifting in and out of focus. Another shot shows light being cast by a model of the solar system sitting in front of a woman sitting at a desk.

Magic Leap claims the entire thing was “shot directly through Magic Leap technology” last week.

The new video debuted in conjunction with Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz’s appearance at WSJDLive, where he said the company is working on “an operating system for reality.”

In the demo, light from the virtual sun bounces realistically off the top of the desk and the little robot notices the viewer and gives a slight wave, showcasing the tech’s ability to interact with the environment. This demo appears to show an extremely wide field of view, something Microsoft’s HoloLens isn’t going to achieve in the first iteration.

magic leap solar system
Another still from the demo video

However, it’s not clear exactly how Magic Leap will work. We haven’t seen any hardware yet (the company says the tech will be like eyeglasses) and previous demos were polished in post-production to show off potential applications instead of realistic use. Unnamed developers have been invited to dream up new uses for the hardware, according to Abovitz, but there’s no open development platform yet.

Alphabet (back when it was Google) led a $542 million investment round in Magic Leap last year. There is still no release date for the Magic Leap, but Abovitz said hundreds of people are working on the project.

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