Microsoft experiments with augmented reality to achieve more immersive video conferencing

The project carried out by Microsoft is called Room2Room and for its implementation Kinect cameras with depth sensors and digital projectors have been used to capture the 3D image of a person who is in one room and project it in size and real time in another..

A group of researchers from Microsoft Research They are exploring ways to create more realistic projections that give the impression that they are not 3D images.. A project that is aimed at making videoconferences become immersive experiences, with the feeling that the person who is in another place seems to be sitting in front of the interlocutor and having an almost 'face-to-face' conversation.

This is a project that is being carried out under the name Room2Room and is the extension of the former Microsoft Research augmented reality project called RoomAlive.

Similar a RoomAlive, Room2Room uses Kinect cameras with depth sensors and digital projectors to capture a 3D image of a person in one room and project a real-time, full-size version of that person onto a piece of furniture in another room..

The goal is to create a feeling of reality and be able to have a 'natural' conversation as if the other person were in the same room..

This is an emerging experience that still poses many challenges to be resolved before it can be commercialized and used in a boardroom.. The technology for sensors and projection is available but the system itself is too bulky and presents some complexity when installing and configuring. Besides, The images are not high resolution and, sometimes, It is difficult to determine where the gaze of the person you are talking to is directed..

According to Tobias Höllerer, professor at the University of California, resolution may be improved and the growing popularity of virtual reality, driven by the upcoming launch of some consumer-targeted headsets from companies like Oculus, could help advance this type of augmented reality technology. “These are the beginnings of the most immersive conferences”