First launched in 2021, Google has unveiled its newest prototype of Project Starline, which has a simpler, slimmed-down design to fit more spaces.
The system uses advanced AI to build a photorealistic model of the person on
the other side of the screen, and projects that onto a light field display
to give a sense of volume and depth.
The first Project Starline prototypes took up
an entire room, requiring infrared light emitters and special cameras to create a live 3D
model of the person you were talking to.
For its latest prototype, Google has
developed new AI techniques that only require a few standard cameras to produce higher quality,
lifelike 3D images. This latest prototype now resembles a more traditional video conferencing system —
going from the size of a restaurant booth to a flat-screen TV — that’s
more deployable and accessible.
These new prototypes are currently being used by Salesforce, T-Mobile and WeWork.