[A flurry of press coverage followed Google’s recent announcement that the company is partnering with HP to commercialize its experimental presence-evoking technology Project Starline. The Tom’s Guide story below has some of the details. Follow links in the story and see Google’s webpage for the technology for more information (the latter includes this: “Feel more present with those you connect with: Starline users experience a ~15% increase in visual attentiveness. Enhanced 3D rendering and spatial audio create a sense of presence that helps you truly focus on what matters most.”).

Another Tom’s Guide story and coverage from The National and CNET feature first-person reports from reporters who have recently used the current version of the technology.

VentureBeat considers the prospects of success:

“By more authentically replicating the nuances of in-person interaction, immersive video conferencing solutions may allow firms to realize the collaborative benefits of the traditional office environment while still accommodating employee desires for flexibility. Of course, widespread enterprise adoption will hinge on making the technology cost-effective for companies of all sizes.

What is clear is that simply mandating stringent return-to-office policies risks a costly brain drain, as evidenced by the exodus of senior talent from tech titans like Microsoft post-RTO. Preserving institutional knowledge and leadership experience will be critical competitive advantages in an era of remote work embracing the virtual workplace.”

Computerworld includes this:

“On first impression, the technology appears to have value for one-to-one virtual experiences, said Irwin Lazar, president and principal analyst at Metrigy, though adoption will likely hinge on cost.

Google isn’t the first to attempt realistic videoconferencing, said Lazar, who pointed to systems developed by vendors such as Cisco, Tandberg, Polycom, and HP. However, these telepresence devices failed to gain widespread adoption due to the high cost of deployment, he said. ‘So, I’ll reserve some judgement [on Project Starline] until we see the cost,’ said Lazar. Even so, he pointed to continued business investment in innovative video meeting technologies, such as multi-camera systems and center room cameras that aim to help remote participants engage with one another more effectively. ‘I do expect that there will be interest in piloting this technology — especially if it’s available within existing meeting apps like Google Meet and Zoom Meetings,’ he said.”

–Matthew]

Google finally has a plan to get Project Starline into your hands

It’s partnering with HP on the effort

By Don Reisinger
May 13, 2024

Google has been touting its Project Starline concept for years on a promise that it will reimagine how we communicate with each other from afar. And starting next year, it may finally become a reality.

Google will launch its Project Starline AI video calling platform next year, the company confirmed in a blog post on Monday (May 13). While the company shared precious few details on how that launch will happen, Google did say that it will be making Project Starline available on HP products first.

“We’re partnering with HP to start commercialization of this unique experience in 2025,” Google wrote in a blog post,” and are working to enable it directly from the video conferencing services you use today — such as Google Meet and Zoom.”

Google first unveiled its concept for Project Starline in 2021, saying that it believed there would be a future in which people who were on a video call and thousands of miles apart would have the ability to communicate as if they were in the same room. Using 3D, Project Starline works with a “magic window” that users look through and can hold their video call in 3D.

“You can talk, gesture and make eye contact with another person, just like you would if you were in the same room,” Google said in its post.

The search giant said it’s been testing Project Starline for quite some time and has logged “thousands of hours” of testing time to ensure it works well. Google found that it delivered a host of improvements in long-distance communication, including “better attentiveness, memory recall and an overall sense of presence.”

Perhaps most importantly, Project Starline creates a more lifelike experience. Instead of looking through a screen to see someone who’s simply being recorded by a camera, Project Starline makes it feel like you’re in the room with them, having a conversation without any intermediary technology.

In addition to making for a more lifelike conversation, it also changes behavior. Indeed, Google said that nonverbal communication, like head nods, hand gestures, and subtle expressions, increases by as much as 50 percent on Project Starline calls compared to traditional video calls.

The major question right now, however, centers on how this will all play out. Neither Google nor HP said how Project Starline will be integrated into HP machines next year and whether it’ll be available on all HP devices or a smaller subset. It’s also unclear how much it’ll cost (if it’ll cost anything at all) and whether there will be other barriers users should consider. Instead, the companies said to stay tuned on future implementations.

Beyond HP, questions remain over whether Google will bring Project Starline to other PC-maker machines or offer it on mobile.

For now, then, a host of questions remain. But it’s nice to see Google finally putting a date on the books for when it’ll finally launch a fascinating platform we’ve been hearing about for years.