Testing and certification company UL Solutions said it had certified the AR headset in US and Canada to ANSI/CAN/UL 8400, the Standard for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) Technology Equipment.
According to UL, ANSI/CAN/UL 8400 is the world’s first safety standard dedicated to spatial computing and extended reality equipment safety.
“The consumer technology industry is seeing rapid innovation in the virtual, augmented and mixed-reality space,” said Ibrahim Jilani, director and global industry leader, Consumer Technology, UL Solutions. “Advances in hardware, software and technologies such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are presenting exciting new opportunities and potential safety risks for consumers and manufacturers.”
The Magic Leap 2 was launched in 2022, with the device aimed at business use cases. US-based Magic Leap, which was founded in 2010 and whose investors include Google and Alibaba, pivoted towards business users after its previous device, Magic Leap 1, had recorded poor sales.
Earlier this year, Magic Leap announced that Magic Leap 2 received certification as an IEC 60601 certified component, a technical standard for the electrical safety of medical electrical equipment. The certification allows the device to be used or incorporated into a medical device for use in an operating room, paving the way for the headset's use in surgeries.
In spite of growing demand for MR tech, uptake of the technology still remains niche, in part due to the high price of headsets. Even so, analysts forecasted that consumers would be using more than 100 million VR, AR and MR headsets and smart glasses by 2023, according to Gartner’s 2019 Unified Retail Retailer Survey.
According to Jilani, growing demand means manufacturers and developers are challenged to balance design and innovation with user safety.
“With our comprehensive range of testing and certification services for virtual, augmented and mixed-reality products, UL Solutions is helping manufacturers address safety concerns ranging from neck strain and headaches from prolonged use to extended exposure to harmful optical radiation sources and spatial awareness,” said Jilani.