After Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that meetings can be held with avatars, a similar step came from Google. Google started testing 3D video calls with realistic avatars.
Changing working life with the corona virus epidemic also affects the development of technology. Last year, Google introduced “Project Starline”, hoping to replace tiring video calls with much more realistic experiences.
With Starline, Google aims to turn calls into a holographic conversation. For some time now, the company has been saying that after testing in its own offices, it is ready to bring Starline to real workplaces for employees to connect with colleagues globally.
Google says the project has already been rolled out in some offices. However, there is no information yet on when the program will be ready for commercial use.
While Starline brings a different approach to VR conferences, other companies, including Meta, are working on developing eye trackers and cameras to diversify avatars and convey facial expressions.
What is Google’s Project Starline?
A first 3D video calling system without glasses
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, took the stage at Google I/O 2021 to announce that his company kicked off a project “several years ago” that relies on different areas of computer science and custom hardware and highly specialized equipment. Called Project Starline, it is a first-of-its-kind natural telepresence system that makes it look like the other person on the video call is sitting across from you. Each participant sits in a booth equipped with infrared cameras and projectors that create a realistic representation, while spatial audio makes it sound like the voice is coming from the other person’s mouth.
Using head tracking and a 65-inch 8K display without glasses, the system allows a person to video call and see them in hyper-realistic 3D.
How does Google Project Starline work?
Project Starline consists of three components:
- Cameras and depth sensors: Specialized equipment that shoots a person from multiple viewpoints.
- Computer advances: Custom software, including new compression and streaming algorithms
- Clear-field displays: Customized hardware that reproduces a realistic representation of a person in 3D
The Starline project uses high-resolution cameras and custom depth sensors to capture the shape and appearance of a user from multiple perspectives, then fuses it all with software that creates a highly detailed, real-time 3D model. Google said it is conducting research in computer vision, ML, spatial audio and real-time compression. The effect is to hear a person sitting across from us.
When will Project Starline be available?
- It has been launched in some Google offices.
- It has been tested by more than 100 companies
- Salesforce, T-Mobile, WeWork and other companies will test it in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Google said it has already spent thousands of hours testing Project Starline in its offices. Initially, there were no plans to commercially release the product to consumers. Google only stated that corporate partners have expressed some enthusiasm and that it is planning to expand access to partners in the healthcare and media industries. Starting in October 2022, Ars Technica reports that Google plans to begin installing Project Starline prototypes in the offices of some of its corporate partners for testing later this year. The partners include Salesforce, T-Mobile, and WeWork. It also reports that Google has conducted demonstrations with more than 100 companies in the healthcare, media, and retail industries.