In 2018 BBC Studios and videogame developer PRELOADED teamed up with Google for a virtual reality (VR) experience called BBC Earth: Life in VR for Google Daydream. For 2019, the pair have now collaborated with Magic Leap on a mixed reality (MR) project called BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses.
For this experience, BBC Studios Natural History Unit and PRELOADED will give users the opportunity to explore microhabitats from the natural world and interact with them. Come face to face with ants that can carry many times their own body weight, or for the brave how about everyone’s favourite eight-legged, eight eyed friend, the spider.
As this is on Magic Leap that means all sorts of creepy crawlies running around your living, using the devices spatial qualities to reveal the invisible senses that guide their behaviour and help them survive. BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses has been made possible thanks to funding by the Magic Leap Independent Creator Program.
“We’re pleased to welcome PRELOADED & BBC Studios to the Magic Leap Independent Creator Program, and are looking forward to working with their team to facilitate their launch into our diverse ecosystem of experiences,” said Rio Caraeff, Chief Content Officer, Magic Leap, in a statement. “Together, we’re innovating the next generation of computing and entertainment, and valued Creators such as PRELOADED & BBC Studios are crucial to defining that future.”
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Preloaded to bring our joint interactive and creative skills to such an exciting new platform and technology. Our natural history team has always used new technologies to tell stories and BBC Earth has brought these innovations to new and established audiences to engage them with the natural world. Mixed Reality and the Magic Leap spatial computing platform presents us with exciting new possibilities to achieve these goals,” Head of Digital Entertainment & Games for BBC Studios, Bradley Crooks commented.
BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses for Magic Leap will arrive later this year, scheduled for Fall 2019. While BBC Earth: Life in VR for Google Daydream was fairly easy to view thanks to the budget-friendly device, Magic Leap One is an altogether different experience. Magic Leap has made the headset easier to purchase but the basic version will still set you back $2,295 USD. For further updates on the project, keep reading VRFocus.