Category: BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses

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BBC Earth and Magic Leap Bring the Insect World to Life in Micro Kingdoms: Senses

Last year BBC Studios, Preloaded and Magic Leap revealed a collaborative project innovating upon 60 years of storytelling by the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses. If you happen to own a Magic Leap 1 headset the documentary is available today from the Magic Leap store.

BBC Earth - Micro Kingdoms

Mixing spatial computing experience and natural history documentary, BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses is narrated by Stephen Fry, encouraging users to learn about ants and spiders.

Utilising Magic Leap’s mixed reality technology users can examine a Leaf Cutter Ant colony in the tropical rainforests of Central America. And for the really brave who don’t have a fear of eight-legged creatures, they can encounter a Wandering Spider in the Atlantic Forest of Eastern Brazil, with the experience detailing their extraordinary senses which help them survive and thrive.

“Our mission is to inform, educate and entertain. With Micro Kingdoms – Senses and the immersive technology of Magic Leap we’re exploring new ways of engaging audiences with natural history storytelling,” said Tom Burton, Head of Interactive at BBC Studios in a statement.

BBC Earth - Micro Kingdoms“In working with BBC Studios and PRELOADED we have blended the physical and digital world to bring valuable earth ecosystems into any room, giving people the chance to see, hear and feel how these animals live and survive. When we can learn by actually experiencing environments, the potential for empathy and appreciation of new worlds grows exponentially. This is the power of spatial computing,” adds Rio Caraeff, Chief Content Officer at Magic Leap.

BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses was created as part of the Magic Leap Independent Creator Program and follows on from 2018’s BBC Earth: Life in VR for the Lenovo Mirage Solo standalone headset, another collaborative effort between BBC Studios and Preloaded.

Magic Leap 1 isn’t exactly a consumer-focused device as the basic version will still set you back a cool $2,295 USD and can only be purchased from the company’s website. At the moment that means mostly developers and enterprise are the main customers although as this app demonstrates not all the content is business-focused.

Take a look at the app in action below and for further announcements from BBC Studios, Preloaded and Magic Leap, keep reading VRFocus.

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BBC Studios & Preloaded to Launch Micro-Habitat Experience on Magic Leap One This Fall

BBC Studios has partnered with PRELOADED, the London-based AR/VR studio, to bring a new experience to Magic Leap One that aims to explore the tiny kingdoms of Mother Nature.

Called BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses, the upcoming AR experience is said to offer users a chance to interactively explore micro habitats from the natural world and bring you face-to-face with its’ inhabitants, something its creators say will confront the user with “the invisible senses that guide their behaviour and help them survive.”

If the experience’s web page is anything to go on, the experience looks to focus on the creepy crawlies of the world, such as ants and spiders.

BBC Earth – Micro Kingdoms: Senses is slated to launch on Magic Leap One at some point this fall.

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“The ambition of the Natural History Unit is always to connect new audiences in new ways to the wonders of the natural world – and in working with PRELOADED on this exciting new project we are achieving that in groundbreaking new ways,” said Doug Hope, executive producer at BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit.

The experience was developed by PRELOADED in collaboration with BBC Studios and their Natural History Unit, and funded by the Magic Leap Independent Creator Program. Preloaded is also known for creating the award-winning VR experience BBC Earth: Life in VR (2018), as well as iOS AR experience A Brief History of Amazing Stunts.

The post BBC Studios & Preloaded to Launch Micro-Habitat Experience on Magic Leap One This Fall appeared first on Road to VR.

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Explore Mother Nature’s Micro Kingdoms With Magic Leap and BBC Earth Later This Year

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.

Magic Leap

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.”

BBC microsite header graphic 1-1

“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.