Starline Project: video calls through 3D holograms, the future that Google offers

The 3D videoconferencing booths of the 'Starline Project'’ of Google, already installed in some of its offices, create a life-size hologram, thanks to the cameras and sensors distributed across the 62" screen″, with spatial audio and information transmission.

Holographic technology as a basis for the future in videoconferencing has become an R&D challenge for multinationals that offer videoconferencing and collaboration platforms. (Cisco, Microsoft), to which other proposals are added, like that of ArthMedia, Portal Hologram, or the most recent of Newtonlab Space in it MWC 2021 in Barcelona, for application in offices, events, television, medical training, etc.

“Over the years, We've created products to help people feel more connected; simplified email with Gmail and we make it easy to share what matters with Photos and be more productive with Meet. But although there has been progress in these and other communication tools, are a far cry from sitting and talking face to face”, explained from Google.

To solve this challenge, “we have been working for some years at Starline, a technology project that combines advances in hardware and software to allow co-workers, friends, etc. they sit together, even when they are separate cities or countries”.

One of the most advanced developments is the one that Google presented just a month ago with its Starline Project: a video conference booth with volumetric video capture with a screen light field on screen of 65″ and spatial audio, that allows you to see the interlocutor in 3D in natural size.

“Imagine looking through some kind of magical window and, through it, see another person, life-size and in three dimensions -described from Google-. Can speak naturally, make gestures and eye contact”.

As they add from the multinational (see attached video), They have been working on the Starline Project for several years and it is evolving: “We are applying advanced screen display technologies, machine learning, spatial audio and compression of data and information for delivery in real time”.

One of the biggest advances in this development has been the light field display system, “with which we have created an experience of 3D volume and depth, without having to wear additional glasses or headphones. The effect is the sensation of a person in life size, as if I were in the same room, and with which when you start a conversation you forget if it is a real holography and all the technology”.

All information is transmitted via WebRTC, that although it uses the same open source architecture as Google Meet, integrates advanced compression technology for latency-free, bidirectional 3D video transmission.

Google, which presented this advance during its annual developers conference, It has already installed these booths in some of its offices as a pilot project.