Lumin OS
| Lumin OS | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Spatial computing / Mixed reality operating system |
| Industry | Augmented reality |
| Developer | Magic Leap |
| Written In | Based on the Linux kernel and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) |
| License | Proprietary |
| Supported Devices | Magic Leap 1 (Magic Leap One Creator Edition) |
| Release Date | August 8, 2018 |
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Lumin OS is the spatial computing operating system that Magic Leap developed for its first headset, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition (also marketed as the Magic Leap 1). It was the system software that ran the device's augmented reality interface, in which digital content is anchored to the physical world and viewed through the headset's optics. Lumin OS was derived from Linux and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and it shipped with the headset when it launched on August 8, 2018 at a price of 2,295 US dollars.[1][2][3]
The platform paired a Linux-based core with software built specifically for spatial computing, so that several applications could be placed in a room at once and interacted with through the headset's hand controller, hand gestures, and eye tracking. Software for the device was distributed through Magic Leap's own store, Magic Leap World.[4][5]
When Magic Leap released its second headset, the Magic Leap 2, in 2022, it did not continue the Lumin OS branding. According to a Magic Leap staff statement on the company's developer forum, "Lumin SDK and Lumin OS was specific for Magic Leap 1, Magic Leap OS is the AOSP based OS used on Magic Leap 2."[6]
Background
Magic Leap is an augmented reality company that spent several years developing a head-worn display before releasing a product. Its first device, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition, shipped on August 8, 2018 and was aimed at developers and creative professionals rather than the general consumer market.[1][2] The hardware was split into three pieces: a headset called Lightwear that holds the optics and sensors, a circular wearable computer called Lightpack, and a hand-held controller called Control.[1][4] Lumin OS was the system software that tied these components together and presented the headset's user interface.[4]
The headset was sold in limited quantities in a small number of United States cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle, with a delivery and fitting service.[2][4]
Architecture
Lumin OS is built on open-source foundations. Multiple accounts describe it as derived from Linux and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), running on top of a Linux kernel and extended with Magic Leap's own software for spatial computing.[7][3] Reporting on the Magic Leap 2 later contrasted that device's standard Android base against "the homegrown 'Lumin' Operating System (OS) used in its Magic Leap 1 back in 2018," reflecting how custom the original platform was.[3]
On top of the operating system, applications could be built with Magic Leap's own Lumin Runtime engine or with common 3D engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine 4. The distinction mattered for how apps behaved on the device: software built on the Lumin Runtime could run alongside other Lumin Runtime apps in a "single coherent experience," while apps built on other engines ran as standalone experiences that took exclusive control of the display.[7][8]
Developers reached the platform through the Lumin SDK, which exposed a set of platform APIs for working with the headset's sensors and spatial features, including eye tracking, hand gesture recognition, and environment mapping. Native applications could be written in C++ in addition to using the Lumin Runtime engine.[7]
Spatial user interface
Lumin OS organised content around two application types, Landscape and Immersive, which Magic Leap detailed ahead of the headset's launch.[8]
- Landscape applications run side by side in the user's space and can coexist with other Landscape apps at the same time, so a person could spread several apps around a room much as they might arrange objects or posters.[8][7]
- Immersive applications take over the headset's entire field of view and run as a single standalone experience, typically built with Unity or Unreal Engine.[8][7]
Landscape content was managed through Prisms, which Magic Leap described as containers that hold an app's content and control where it appears and how large it can grow in the surrounding space. Prisms helped reduce visual clutter and manage system resources, and developers could set a Prism's default, minimum, and maximum size.[9]
Because Lumin OS continuously mapped the surrounding room, virtual content could persist in place across sessions and respond to the real environment, including effects such as real-world occlusion, where physical objects can block virtual ones.[7]
Software and applications
The Magic Leap One shipped with a set of first-party applications running on Lumin OS, including the Helio web browser, which lets users pull 3D content from the web into the room; Screens, a video player for placing 2D screens in 3D space; and a Social app for connecting with other people with a sense of presence.[4] Magic Leap also provided sample apps and a creation toolkit for developers.[2]
Applications were distributed through Magic Leap World, the platform's app store. Magic Leap brought Magic Leap World to the web as part of the Lumin OS 0.98.10 update in March 2020, letting people browse the catalogue in a browser without a headset, in addition to the store on the device itself.[5]
Updates
Magic Leap shipped Lumin OS as a sequence of versioned, over-the-air updates while the Magic Leap One was supported. The releases were numbered below 1.0, for example version 0.97 and version 0.98.10.[5] The 0.98.10 update, which rolled out from March 16, 2020, was a representative example: it added the web version of Magic Leap World, a Desktop Companion App for sharing 3D models from a computer to the headset, a Meetings beta for collaborating on 2D and 3D content with local and remote users, and updates to the Helio browser that let pages be laid flat on a table or floor.[5]
| Milestone | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Leap One Creator Edition launch | August 8, 2018 | Headset ships with Lumin OS, priced at 2,295 US dollars[1][2] |
| Lumin OS 0.98.10 update | March 2020 | Magic Leap World launches on the web; adds Desktop Companion App, Meetings beta, Helio updates[5] |
| Magic Leap 1 end of life | December 31, 2024 | Device stops receiving OS updates and support; apps reach end of life[10] |
Relationship to Magic Leap 2
Lumin OS was specific to the original Magic Leap headset and did not carry forward to the Magic Leap 2, which reached general availability on September 30, 2022.[3] The successor moved to a more standard mobile foundation: it runs an operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, specifically Android 10 (API level 29), rather than the in-house Lumin platform used on the first device.[3][11]
The change had practical consequences for developers. On the Magic Leap 2, applications are built as standard Android APKs and can be developed, deployed, and debugged with Android Studio, and many existing Android APKs can be loaded onto the device without modification.[11] Magic Leap's developer documentation confirms that "Magic Leap 2 is an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) device," which lets it reuse the broad tooling built for AOSP devices.[12]
Magic Leap referred to the second device's operating system as Magic Leap OS rather than Lumin OS. On the company's developer forum, a Magic Leap staff member stated that "Lumin SDK and Lumin OS was specific for Magic Leap 1, Magic Leap OS is the AOSP based OS used on Magic Leap 2," and clarified that a documentation reference to "Magic Leap Core OS" was a typo for Magic Leap OS.[6] The extent to which any Lumin OS naming or branding continued beyond the first headset is not otherwise documented.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Magic Leap One, Creator Edition AR headset is ready for a reality check". CNN. 2018-08-08. https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/08/technology/magic-leap-one-creator/index.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Magic Leap launches One Creator Edition headset for $2,295". 2018-08-08. https://venturebeat.com/dev/magic-leap-launches-one-creator-edition-headset-for-2295/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Magic Leap 2's GA release shows a company fighting back". 2022-10-05. https://www.thestack.technology/magic-leap-2-release/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Magic Leap One "Creator Edition" is now available". 2018-08-08. https://www.geoweeknews.com/news/magic-leap-one-creator-edition-is-now-available.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Magic Leap announces host of new features as part of Lumin OS 0.98.10 update". 2020-03-17. https://www.auganix.org/magic-leap-announces-host-of-new-features-as-part-of-lumin-os-0-98-10-update/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "What is the difference between Magic Leap Core OS and Lumin OS?". Magic Leap. 2022. https://forum.magicleap.cloud/t/what-is-the-difference-between-magic-leap-core-os-and-lumin-os/3216.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "Here's What Magic Leap's Creator Portal & Lumin SDK Docs Reveal About How You'll Develop for & Use Magic Leap One". 2018. https://magic-leap.reality.news/news/heres-what-magic-leaps-creator-portal-lumin-sdk-docs-reveal-about-youll-develop-for-use-magic-leap-one-0183585/.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Magic Leap reveals Landscape and Immersive mixed reality app UIs". 2018-07-27. https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/27/magic-leap-reveals-landscape-and-immersive-mixed-reality-app-uis.
- ↑ "Magic Leap One Prisms, Immersive and Landscape Apps". 2018. https://arcritic.com/2291/magic-leap-one-prisms-immersive-and-landscape-apps/.
- ↑ "Magic Leap 1 End of Life". Magic Leap. 2024. https://www.magicleap.care/hc/en-us/articles/18878883445645-Magic-Leap-1-End-of-Life.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Magic Leap 2 Review First Look & ML2 Developer Tools Are Here!". 2022. https://blog.learnxr.io/extended-reality/magic-leap-2-review-and-specs.
- ↑ "Magic Leap AOSP Tools". Magic Leap. 2022. https://developer-docs.magicleap.cloud/docs/guides/developer-tools/lumin-aosp-tools/.