Magic Leap CEO implies that virtual reality competitors like Oculus Rift could cause brain damage
Magic Leap's technology will use a different method than other virtual reality headsets, like Facebook's Oculus Rift or Samsung's Gear VR.
Those products use "stereoscopic 3D," which means they essentially trick your eyes into thinking flat images have depth by showing each eye an image of the same object at a different angle.
Magic Leap's technology, on the other hand, makes 3D images that appear to exist in the real-world by projecting light directly into your eyes.
While answering questions on Reddit Tuesday afternoon, Magic Leap's quirky founder, Rony Abovitz said that devices that use stereoscopic 3D cause brain damage.
"There are a class of devices (see-through and non-see-through) called stereoscopic 3D," Abovitz wrote. "We at Magic Leap believe these inputs into the eye-brain system are incorrect and can cause a spectrum of temporary and/or permanent neurologic deficits."
Magic Leap's technology, however, "respects the biology of the human eye-brain system" in a safer way.
Abovitz' comparison came up thanks to a question about how he would compare Magic Leap's product to Microsoft's recently-announced Hololens device. However, it's not clear whether Hololens actually does use stereoscopic 3D technology, or something else.
Here's Abovitz' full answer:
When a user followed-up that response with a question about whether he should be concerned for his health if he uses those stereoscopic 3D devices regularly, Abovitz answered like this: