Google introduces Project Starline for video conferencing

Project StarLine: Due to the pandemic, tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom enjoy great success. But the personal, social contacts cannot be replaced. In this area, Google wants to engage with Project Starline to make video calls look like real encounters.

On the occasion of the Google I/O 2021 developer conference, the U.S. company will present its progress on Project Starline. The prototype of a videoconferencing solution aims to use realistic 3D recordings to ensure users experience the feeling of a real encounter in one and the same space. Google describes its system as a “magic window” through which participants can still see their virtual counterparts at full size and in three dimensions. In this way, natural conversations must be conducted, gestures observed and real eye contact established.

Magic Window: the technology behind the future of virtual communication

Google explains the technology behind it in simple terms in its latest blog post: “To make this experience possible, we apply research results in the areas of computer vision, machine learning, spatial sound and real-time compression. We’ve also developed a groundbreaking light field display system that creates a sense of volume and depth that can be experienced without extra glasses or headsets. ” The group tries to put the technology in the background for users – no glance at the webcam, no laptop monitor that is far too small.

Project Starline is currently only being tested in a few US Google locations as the manufacturer claims the system is based on specially crafted hardware. While the market readiness and, above all, the financial affordability of such a specialized video conferencing system is still a long way off, Google believes that person-to-person communication can and should go in that direction. The first demos have been carried out with partners from healthcare, among others, in order to be able to carry out further pilot installations this year.

Source: research snipers