Remember Project Starline? It is the concept (which later became the prototype) of a new generation 3D video chat booth. I told you about it at the time of its first presentation in May of last year.
Now the very compelling project has moved on to the next stage and Google will test it on large partners in a special program.
Among the companies "chosen" for the experimentation are the German giant T-Mobile and the marketing platform Salesforce.
A magical cabin to see yourself "in person" even from a distance
As mentioned, Google announced on his official blog that will distribute the units of its "magic cabin" in the offices of selected partners to evaluate if the latest version of the project can be the final one, to be commercialized to all.
But how does Starline work?
The idea is that you can sit in the booth and have a virtual conversation with another human being as if they were present. Yes. No more tiny Zoom windows or virtual reality headsets.
The booth creates the effect of talking to a person present on the spot: it captures the appearance with cameras and sensors and recreates a 3D model of the person on the other side of the call.
Take it as a digital teleporter.
Too much emphasis, right? There is a lot of hardware behind it though. The beauty of this technology, at least from the short videos already released by Google, is in the final effect. Impressive. For me, comparable to that of PORT, but technically more advanced.
Who knows, maybe this experimentation is just a further phase of the process and it will take more time. Or maybe we are close to the final launch. The fact is that the idea of this magical cabin is beautiful because it simplifies complicated things. And it reduces the distances with a "narrative power" that we probably cannot yet grasp.
For this it will not cost little, at least initially, but the vertical growth of new models of hybrid work could make Starline popular and accessible.
The confrontation between people is about to break down every spatial barrier: we will have more time for the important things (what should we tell each other?) That encounters are the substance.
