Magic Leap offers three different storage options for different types of spatial map data. You can choose to store your World Features “On Device” or in a “Personal World,” or to contribute them to “Shared World.” Each of these options is described in more detail below. If you decide to contribute World Features to Shared World, you can then decide if you would also like to enable World Understanding, and your World Understanding results will be contributed to Shared World as well. World Models are designed to be processed locally on your Device.
On Device
On Device storage means that your spatial maps will be stored locally on your device and will not be sent to Magic Leap’s cloud. When you store your spatial maps locally on your device, map generation and localization is handled by your device’s operating system. Spatial maps will still be available to you and your applications. However, there is a limit to the amount of spatial maps you can store on your device and once your device’s memory is full, previous spatial maps will be overwritten. As a result, one impact of this setting is that your device may spend more time spatially mapping areas you have visited previously.
Personal World
If you choose to store your World Features in a Personal World, Magic Leap will store your World Features data in its cloud, but those World Features will not be shared with other Magic Leap users. Using a Personal World allows you to save more World Features than you can on your device and your device will spend less time spatially mapping areas you have visited previously. Storing your World Features in a Personal World also enables apps to persist content across device sessions so that content appears in the same place the next time you access it.
To identify the specific spatial map you need when you enter an area, spatial maps that are stored in Magic Leap’s cloud are associated with information to identify where the spatial map was created, which includes information about the closest WiFi networks (BSSIDs (aka MAC address), signal strengths, and SSIDs (aka WiFi network names)), as well as latitude and longitude for the device’s location. Sections of spatial maps are then also assigned an area tag number, which is used to identify which spatial maps should be sent to your device when you enter an area and what spatial maps are thought to be nearby to queue up if you move.
Shared World
Shared World is Magic Leap’s platform to maximize the power of spatial computing. If you elect to use Shared World, the World Features (and if you enable World Understanding, your World Understanding results) in each spatial map created from your device about a particular area will be saved to a collective spatial map of that area stored in Magic Leap’s cloud ecosystem. This means the World Features and World Understanding results in a spatially mapped area will be available to all Shared World users who contribute to the collective spatial map of that area. Using Shared World means your device may not need to map new areas you enter if other Shared World users have mapped them before you. If you contribute your spatial maps to Shared World, it will improve shared and other multi-user experiences by allowing both you and other users to utilize the same World Features - enabling you to see digital content in the same physical location.
Every time a spatial map is generated for an area in Shared World, the collective version of the spatial map is updated to reflect new information, though previous versions of spatial maps are retained to improve ongoing spatial map quality, even if they are not used in the current collective map. Certain areas may have already been spatially mapped by alternate processes, such as LIDAR. In these areas, spatial maps originating from Magic Leap devices may not be merged into the collective spatial map.
Similar to when you store your World Features in a Personal World, spatial maps that are contributed to Shared World are associated with information to identify where the spatial map was created to identify the specific spatial map you need when you enter an area, which includes information about the closest WiFi networks (BSSIDs (aka MAC address), signal strengths, and SSIDs (aka WiFi network names)), as well as latitude and longitude for the location. Sections of spatial maps are then also assigned an area tag number, which is used to identify which spatial maps should be sent to your device when you enter an area and what spatial maps are thought to be nearby to queue up if you move.