MKBHD tested Google’s Project Starline, an exceptional real-time 3D communication
Many different technologies are currently working to improve the way we communicate, but most of them are limited to quality updates (better cameras and microphones, AI to help process images and sound, etc.) rather than format. Virtual reality also partially tries to contribute to communication, but the features of virtual avatars do not yet have the desired effect.
Google is working on a more interesting option — Project Starline. Back in 2021, the company described it as a “a technology project that combines advances in hardware and software to enable friends, families and coworkers to feel together, even when they’re cities (or countries) apart.”
The main idea is that with the help of three arrays of cameras and a special screen, an ordinary video call can be turned into an amazing 3D communication and have a more real feeling of the presence of the interlocutor next to you. At the same time, people do not need additional helmets or glasses.
And the effect of the presence of a person nearby turned out to be really impressive not only in marketing videos. Blogger Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) managed to test the latest improvements to Project Starline. He and his team were impressed with the system’s capabilities.
As Marques notes, the device used to consist of a special booth with a larger number of sensors, but now it has “shrunk” almost to a 65-inch display, an array of cameras and backlight.
Unfortunately, the camera cannot demonstrate all the capabilities of this technology. According to the feedback of the blogger, and judging by the reaction of other members of his team, Project Starline impresses with its capabilities.
As you can see in the recording, the technology has a great effect of presence, and if, for example, the interlocutor has some object, there is a realistic feeling that it can literally be transmitted, as if people are really next to each other. Even the sound will be adjusted according to the position of the person in front of the screen and played accordingly, taking into account, for example, the tilt of the head.
However, the project is still closed and has its limitations. Google currently works with several companies that use Project Starline for internal communications. Also, the technology is limited to only two interlocutors, that is, only one person can be on one side.
Well, Google itself still does not have an unequivocal answer for whom such a product is being developed. It is unlikely that many ordinary people will want to pay for additional technology exclusively for communication, because the capabilities of smartphones and computers are quite enough for them without it. But technology does not stand still, and perhaps over time such a gadget will be much more accessible and simpler.