Google's Project Starline 3D video call booths will now be tested in the real world

As ​​Meta tries to convince consumers to strap on its VR headsets to enter the metaverse, Google continues to experiment with another kind of false reality: its holographic video chat project known as the name of Project Starline. Announced last year, Project Starline is a video call booth that uses 3D imagery, high-resolution cameras, custom depth sensors and a revolutionary light field display to create a realistic experience for callers on both sides of the screen - and all without a headset required. Now Google says it is expanding its real-world testing with an early access program that will see Starline used in the offices of various enterprise partners, including Salesforce, WeWork, T-Mobile and Hackensack Meridian Health.

Google will begin installing prototypes of Project Starline in select partner offices for regular testing from the end of the year, he noted.

Until now, 3D call booths have been in Google offices in the US, where employees can test them out for events like meetings, employee onboarding sessions, and more. The company had also invited more than 100 corporate partners from fields such as media, healthcare and retail to demo the technology in its offices and provide feedback on the experience.

With the launch of the new Early Access program, these partners will be able to test Call Booths in their own offices, providing Google with valuable feedback and insight into how such technology would be used in the real world and what sort of challenges it may face.

Those who were able to test the Starline project described the experience as incredibly realistic and impressive technology, even in its early stages.

But we wondered how far Starline would exist beyond being a very cool tech demo, versus tech that would end up being part of everyday life for office workers - let alone consumers. . It's unclear whether Google has a plan to actually commercialize the technology, what these call booths would cost businesses to purchase and maintain, and whether or not there's enough demand for the technology in a world. where Zoom and Google Meet are considered "good enough" solutions for virtual meetings. (Plus, they can support more than the one-on-one conversations offered by Starline.)

In addition, the long-term status of the Starline project at Google is unknown, as the project was wrapped up a year ago in a reorganization that saw Google move its various AR and VR technologies, as well as its group of Internal R&D known as Area 120. , in a new "Labs" team. Last September, Google then halved the number of projects in the 120 area, indicating that it may not be viewing these types of experiences as priorities in the current economic environment. Even some Googlers weren't sure Project Starline was still around, given the situation.

Nevertheless, Starline's technology is an interesting bet on a different kind of "virtual" reality - one where people are not represented with game-like avatars, but rather as themselves. Instead of developing technology that uses cameras to track eye and facial movements to make avatars more realistic, as Meta currently does, or figuring out how to add legs to your body in virtual reality, Google strives to present a person as they are - and without the added bulk of having to wear something on their head.

Meanwhile, as more companies try to figure out the hybrid future of the work model, technology like Starline could bridge the gap between in-person meetings and the less conceptual 2D video chat experience. that we have today.

Partners like WeWork and Salesforce have expressed interest in trying the technology, which they say could help make connections between people more meaningful.

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