Google’s 3D video conferencing platform, Project Starline, is coming in 2025 with help from HP

With the use of cameras, 3D imagery, and a specially made screen, Google launched Project Starline in 2021, a teleconferencing network geared toward businesses that allows users to communicate virtually as if they were in the same room. Following years of testing and exclusive technical previews (as well as development delays due to a divisional reorganization), Google and HP are now bringing Starline to market. Prior to Google I/O, Google announced in a blog post that it will work with HP to begin commercializing Starline in 2025. Google claims to be working on integrating Starline with well-known videoconferencing services like Zoom and Google Meet.

The general manager of Project Starline, Andrew Nartker, released a statement saying, “This marks an important development approaching an international community where relations and cooperation are attainable no matter where you are.” “Later this year, we’ll provide more information. Starline is still very much a virtual experience, despite the fact that it may potentially fool your brain into thinking differently, as my colleague Brian Heater highlighted about his hands-on experience last year. Will there be much of a need for Starline, which at first appeared to be primarily targeted at hybrid offices that often have remote worker conferences, given that many employers are moving toward entirely in-office settings in the wake of the pandemic?

Ninety percent of businesses that have office space will have gone back to having an office by 2024, per a Resume Builder poll. Although studies on the productivity of remote workers have not shown clear results, many in senior management, particularly in the IT industry, believe that work-from-home programs are something of a failed experiment. However, maybe a few clients may be able to use Starline solely for virtual meetings between offices. WeWork, T-Mobile, Salesforce, and over a hundred other industry partners were evaluating a prototype version of the technology, according to a statement made by Google last year.

With 3D photography and artificial intelligence, Google’s Project Starline is revolutionizing video conferencing by giving you the impression that you and the other person are in the same room. This idea, which was announced in 2021, makes use of specialized cameras and displays to show a 3D image of the person you are phoning, giving the impression that they are seated just across from you.

In 2025, Google and HP will collaborate to introduce Project Starline to enterprises. Additionally, the solution will work with well-known video conferencing services like Zoom and Google Meet. Is this technology still necessary in a world when many businesses are moving back to physical offices? Google thinks so, too. Even for teams working in the same workplace, Google claims that the immersive experience may enhance attention, memory recall, and general cooperation, even though Project Starline was first designed with mixed work settings in mind.

Bringing Project Starline out of the lab

We presented our ideas for Project Starline in 2021. This ground-breaking technological project will make friends, family, and coworkers feel as though they are in the same room, no matter how far apart they are. Starline functions similarly to a “magic window” thanks to developments in AI, 3D imaging, and other technologies. Like you would if you were in the same room, you may converse, gesture, and look someone in the eye. Following hundreds of hours of testing with industry partners and across Google offices, we discovered that Starline meetings felt more like in-person meetings than typical video conversations. Better focus, memory recall, and a general sensation of presence result from this. People behave as though they are in the same room, not thousands of kilometers away, on Starline.

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re bringing technology out of the lab today, concentrating on establishing connections between remote teams and individuals in the workplace. We are collaborating with HP to begin commercializing this exceptional experience in 2025, and we are striving to make it accessible straight from the video conferencing apps you already use, including Zoom and Google Meet.

HP is in a unique position to offer cutting-edge experiences to a global audience because to their investment in Poly’s collaborative solutions and their expertise in computing. “An immersive collaboration experience plays an important role in creating authentic human connections in hybrid environments,” states HP President of Personal Systems Alex Cho. “More than half of meaning and intent communicated through body language versus words alone.” With Google, we are excited to introduce this technology to the market and use AI’s potential to reshape the nature of teamwork.

This is a big step toward creating a future where people can connect and work together no matter where they are. Later this year, we’ll provide more information; in the meanwhile, you may learn more at Starline. Google.

Google’s 3D Video Conferencing Platform is Coming in 2025

With the convergence of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and quantum computing, the world of technology today is shifting toward state-of-the-art solutions that redefine human potential and digital engagement. Using 3D models is one of the most amazing developments in this field, offering a method to explore images that has never been seen before. With the help of these models, people may engage with digital material as though it were genuine and realistic.

3D models are going to be essential to Google’s new platform. They will allow participants to appear as holographic projections during video conferences, which will increase their realism. Imagine a business gathering where coworkers from all around the world convene in one space, their 3D avatars imitating their actual facial emotions and movements.

In addition to improving visual fidelity, this technology encourages more natural and engaging interactions that are similar to in-person meetings. Google’s “Project Starline” 3D video conferencing technology uses cutting-edge sensors and cameras to capture human communication’s subtleties, including body language and facial emotions, making the experience richer and more intimate.

Adding 3D models to video conferences represents a larger trend toward immersive digital experiences as we approach this technical tipping point.

With this breakthrough, virtual interactions will become more meaningful and productive than they have ever been, setting a new benchmark for connection and collaboration. This essay will focus on how important it is to the development of digital communication in 2025.

An Analysis of Google’s 3D Video Conference System

Although Google unveiled their 3D video conference platform in 2021, the general public did not begin using it until 2025. According to Google, “Project Starline” will be the next-generation video calling technology that offers a fully immersive conference environment at any time and location. The result of “thousands of hours” of internal testing and several years of study is Project Starline.

To simulate being in the same in-person experience, the 3D video conferencing platform fully relies on a mix of technologies, including 3D imagery, computer vision, and spatial audio.

Google and HP have teamed together to make this technology widely accessible by 2025, albeit the pricing structure has not yet been disclosed.

Google claims that Project Starline provides a number of benefits over current video technologies. Higher degrees of immersion encourage attendees to pay closer attention in meetings, according to Google, citing internal user study.

According to the firm, attendees of meetings also reported decreased video call weariness, improved memory recall, and a higher likelihood of remembering specifics of a “face-to-face” talk.

What is the 3D video conferencing platform about in more detail?

Integrity & Compatibility

Although it’s unclear yet if the future solution would interact with Microsoft Teams, it will function with well-known video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet. A component of the system that improves user engagement, memory recall, and overall presence in meetings is artificial intelligence. Google plans to release more details on Project Starline in the months leading up to its launch, even though the pricing has not yet been disclosed.

Validation and Testing

Since its launch in 2021, Project Starline has undergone extensive testing, both internally at Google and with almost 100 industry partners, including well-known companies like Salesforce, WeWork, and T-Mobile. These tests have demonstrated how the technology may enhance remote relationships by providing a more entertaining and realistic alternative to conventional video chats. As hybrid work models become popularity, Project Starline should be useful in bridging the gap between virtual and in-person meetings.

Opportunities And Difficulties in The Market

Despite the post-pandemic shift towards in-office work arrangements, there is still a market for Project Starline, particularly for office-to-office virtual conferencing. A survey from Resume Builder predicts that 90% of companies with offices will reopen by 2024. However, many senior managers—especially in the IT industry feel that productivity targets have not been met by remote work. Given this context, using advanced teleconferencing systems such as Project Starline presents both opportunities and challenges.

In summary

All things considered, when Google launches their 3D video conferencing platform in 2025, it will completely change the way we communicate. This state-of-the-art technology bridges the gap between in-person and distant engagements by providing an immersive, lifelike experience that promises to revolutionize virtual meetings. Because video conferencing is still a major tool used by businesses and individuals for socializing, education, and work, Google’s creative solution attempts to overcome the drawbacks of conventional 2D video chats and connect people together, wherever they may be in the globe.

Google’s 3D video calling is coming in 2025 but who’s it for?

Google debuted Project Starline in 2021, a brand-new immersive video call technology that resembled something from science fiction. A “magic window” that could give the impression that you were in the same room as someone, even if they were far away, was showcased in this project. Google said in a blog post today that Project Starline is going “out of the lab” and entering the business market in 2025 thanks to an HP collaboration.

Traditional video calls have its limitations, as we all discovered after having to cope with lengthy video conversations during the epidemic. Everyone has felt that uneasy lag, the inability to understand body language, and the persistent sense of being disconnected. Google claims that Starline’s combination of AI, 3D imagery, and cutting-edge technology eliminates those constraints.

Google has also tested Starline extensively, logging thousands of hours of testing both internally and with partners. Testers report that meetings feel more organic, interesting, and that there is an unmistakable sensation of “being there” that isn’t achievable with standard video conferences. The findings are astounding. MKBHD referred to this as “the most impressive tech demo” he has ever seen in a video that was uploaded a year ago.

An immersive collaborative experience is crucial for fostering genuine human relationships in hybrid work settings, as stated by HP Personal Systems President Alex Cho, who noted that over half of meaning and purpose are conveyed via body language rather than through words alone.

The most recent model, which has a 65-inch display, a barrier along the bottom, and cameras along the sides and top, resembles the device that MKBHD shown, despite the fact that we don’t have official specifications. You can see it in the video above.

Furthermore, you may be able to test out a Project Starline video call sooner than you would anticipate. Google and HP have announced their partnership to provide Starline to businesses in 2025. They are also aiming to make Starline immediately accessible through video conferencing services like Zoom and Google Meet.

Who is it intended for, though?

I am eager to participate in a Project Starline call because I want to witness this incredible technology in action, but it is questionable if there will be enough companies interested in this product to make it viable in the long run. Although I’m concerned that this will be just another Google initiative that ends up in the graves, the cost of the units will undoubtedly have an impact. Additionally, a lot of staff have returned to work.

This seemed like essential technology in 2021; not so much in the present. Once more, the technology appears amazing and revolutionary, but how many companies genuinely require this kind of setup? We’ll have to wait and see if the target market consists of high-level executives who must communicate with people on the other side of the globe, or if there are enough companies that meet this demand to support Starline. As of right now, Google promises further upgrades will be released later this year. Explore the wonder of Project Starline at Starline. Google if you’re curious or simply want to geek out a little.

Google I/O: Project Starline may enable holographic, lifelike video chats in the future.

Project Starline: What is it?

During the COVID era, Project Starline was created at a time when working from home was popular. “Technology project that combines advances in hardware and software to enable friends, families, and coworkers to feel together, even when they’re cities (or countries) apart,” is how Google describes it. According to Google, it’s like a kind of magic window where you can view a life-sized, three-dimensional image of another person. You can gesture, make eye contact, and speak in a genuine way.

To make the technology function, Google used research in real-time compression, computer vision, machine learning, and spatial audio. With no extra glasses or headgear required, it improved upon a light field display technology that produces a feeling of depth and volume. The impact is similar to having someone seated directly across from you in the real world. As it connected coworkers across its offices in Seattle, New York, and the Bay Area, Google claimed to have tested Project Starline internally for thousands of hours.

In 2025, Google and HP will launch Project Starline.

Google now decided that meetings held in Starline result in improved attentiveness, memory recall, and a general sense of presence, after sufficient testing and research demonstrated that consumers prefer such a setting over a standard video chat.

We’re thrilled to announce today that we’re taking technology out of the lab to link individuals and remote teams in the workplace. Google said in a blog post that it is collaborating with HP to start commercializing this unique experience in 2025 and that it will be possible to access it straight from popular video conferencing apps like Zoom and Google Meet.

According to the firm, HP is in a unique position to offer cutting-edge experiences all around the world because of their investment in Poly’s collaborative solutions and their expertise in computing. Later this year, Google plans to release further information on the development.

Imagine having a video call with someone that appears to be in real life, almost as if they are standing in front of you. Instead of the current two-dimensional, flat appearance, they will appear as a 3D, real-life version of themselves and you during a video conference.

The concept of a user being transformed into a 3D hologram of themselves is not new. Additionally, large IT corporations have been ardently promoting it for some time now. The most recent effort at this is Project Starline by Google. Microsoft’s Mesh technology, unveiled more subsequently, offered their own spin on mixed reality.

During the current I/O conference, Google gave a sneak peek at Project Starline. We started an initiative to use technology to investigate what’s feasible a few years ago. We have named it Starline Project. It expands on the several computer science topics I covered today. It depends on highly specialized technology and specially made hardware. Sundar Pichai stated during the I/O keynote, “It is early and currently available in a few of our offices, but we thought it would be fun to give an early look at experiencing it for the first time.

Google provides relatively little information in a blog post regarding Project Starline, which seems sense considering that this is still a young subject. Simply said, Project Starline “combines advances in hardware and software” to make friends, family, and coworkers feel closer even when they are geographically separated by distance whether that distance is across cities or nations.

Additionally, Google claims that in order to create these lifelike 3D holograms, it is utilizing “research in computer vision, machine learning, spatial audio, and real-time compression.” In order to provide a sense of depth and volume that may be experienced without the need for extra glasses or headsets, Google claims to have “developed a breakthrough light field display system.

Thus, should Project Starline become widely available, it would function without requiring any additional AR or VR headsets, in contrast to a Microsoft HoloLens. In addition, the system uses a 3D picture of the user that is relayed to a 3D display in real-time after being compressed to create the illusion that the person is actually seated across from you.

Naturally, this type of 3D effect is not compatible with the screens on our smartphones or laptops, and as Pichai and the little presentation made clear, special equipment is required for Project Starline to succeed.

However, a thorough analysis published on Wired by Lauren Goode provides an overview of the functioning of Project Starline, which has allegedly been in development for almost five years. According to the study, these 3D holographic conversations may be made in high-tech “video booths,” which are naturally jam-packed with sensors and cameras. The story also states that Google has not disclosed the price of building one of these customized booths. However, according to Wired, Google looks to be leveraging WebRTC, the same open-source technology that underpins Google Meet, for the same purpose.

Google claims that just a handful of its offices presently provide Project Starline. According to the business, “custom-built hardware and highly specialised equipment” are being used. The statement goes on, “We want to make this technology more widely available and affordable. To that end, we’re integrating some of these technological advancements into our line of communication products. Though it has “already spent thousands of hours testing Project Starline” internally and connected staff “between the Bay Area, New York, and Seattle,” it also appears that Google is eager to expand the technology’s use outside of its headquarters.