Augmented Reality (AR) experiences should stay grounded right along with us — intuitively, persistently, and believably. That’s why Magic Leap invests heavily in optimizing world-locking, a foundational piece of AR technology that ensures digital content remains accurately and stably positioned in the physical world.
With over a decade of experience in the field, we have deeply researched and rigorously refined our world-locking technologies — developing both algorithms and supporting hardware through iterative testing and real-world deployment.
So whether you're walking across a room or returning hours later, our world-locking algorithms and technology keep content precisely where you left it — anchored in space, undisturbed by movement or environmental changes.
To see world-locking in action, consider Jordan, an architect navigating her day with the help of an AR device. Through her experience, you’ll see how this powerful technology subtly and seamlessly turns digital interactions into grounded, useful parts of daily life.
Early Morning: Reminders for the Day Ahead
After waking up, Jordan puts on her AR device first thing, like many of us put on our glasses. Instantly, her apartment lights up with useful information. As she moves around she can take in information naturally, no need to spend time hunched over her phone.
A virtual calendar is neatly pinned to her bedroom wall highlighting her day, reminders for dry cleaning and groceries hover by the front door, and a shared grocery list is anchored to the refrigerator. None of this content is reloaded or repositioned — it's exactly where she left it.
This is world-locking in action. It helps to maintain digital content in consistent spatial locations over time. Virtual anchors help tie content to the environment, so when Jordan pins a list to her fridge it stays put. World-locking ensures content stays smooth and stable even as we move around. For Jordan, it means digital life blends into her physical home as naturally as her furniture.
On the Way to Work: Stability in Motion
Before work, Jordan walks to meet a friend at a popular new breakfast cafe. This is where SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) works alongside world -locking. SLAM builds and updates a real-time map of Jordan’s surroundings, while world-locking ensures digital content stays positioned in that map without drift or jitter.
AR navigation cues appear in her view subtly, to help her maintain situational awareness. Arrows guide her down sidewalks and a blinking beacon appears above the cafe entrance when she approaches.
Without SLAM and world-locking, those arrows might float off or shift awkwardly with every head turn. But with them, the visual cues stay reliably locked to their physical positions even as she walks, looks around, and moves through the city — ensuring a stable and enjoyable user experience.
After breakfast, Jordan heads to the nearby train station. When she steps onto the train platform, a real-time transit update appears above the tracks, clearly showing a five-minute delay. Once aboard, she opens a floating to-do list and pins it to the back of the seat in front of her. Despite the vibration of the train and other passengers moving around, the content stays locked in place, letting Jordan focus on planning her day.
At the Office: Collaboration in Context
At Jordan’s architectural firm, AR enhances how she and her team interact with shared spaces and information. As she walks into her office, a digital task board is anchored to the wall near her desk — a persistent list of action items that updates throughout the week. Virtual sticky notes, attached to the side of a file cabinet, remind her of feedback from recent client reviews.
Later, while preparing for a team huddle, Jordan pins a set of project notes to a shared whiteboard. These digital notes remain in place between sessions, accessible to the rest of her team.
Thanks to world-locking, all this content remains stable and dependable. It doesn’t need to be reset or manually re-aligned with each use. This spatial consistency turns AR into a lightweight but powerful workplace companion, helping Jordan stay organized and aligned with her team without adding friction.
Evening Exercise: Movement with Meaning
After work, Jordan heads to the park for a run. Her AR device guides her through a personalized workout with visual cues that appear along the path: a translucent ring to sprint through, a marker signaling a rest interval, and a pace guide floating just ahead.
These elements stay precisely locked to the running path, adjusting dynamically to Jordan’s movement without disorienting shifts. Advanced algorithms ensure the digital content doesn’t shake even while she’s in motion. Her device remembers the space thanks to a technology known as relocalization. It creates consistent spatial alignment along this familiar route even if the session is paused or interrupted.
World-locking is essential to keeping Jordan focused on her workout. The digital content and the way it's displayed turns her exercise routine into something more immersive. It matches her motion and the environment, turning exercise into something interactive, goal-oriented, and fun.
When she returns home after her run, she’s greeted with the same familiar interfaces she left behind in the morning. The reminders pinned near her door are synced with the new to-dos she added today. The shopping list on the fridge has new items she thought about on her commute to work. Her space — and her experience — remains intact and anchored.
World-Locking is AR’s Unsung Hero
World-locking doesn’t draw attention to itself, but it underpins every moment of Jordan’s AR-enhanced day. From persistent home interfaces to dynamic navigation, from team collaboration to interactive exercise, it ensures that digital content behaves like it belongs in the physical world.
By combining individual technologies like SLAM, anchors, and relocalization, world-locking can create continuity. And in AR, continuity is what transforms novelty into utility.
Magic Leap’s commitment to world-locking research and innovation keeps AR content where it belongs. And in doing so, it brings us one step closer to a world where digital and physical realities coexist seamlessly.