Two years after its announcement, and after long months of silence, will Google’s Starline Project revise its ambitions downwards?
During its I/O conference, which took place last night, the Mountain View company presented a new version of its “revolutionary” videoconferencing project: Project Starline. So, is it still as revolutionary as it is in 2021?
Starline project: a new prototype presented at I/O 2023
Presented for the very first time in the midst of a pandemic, the Starline Project aimed to bring you closer to the people who are dear to you. The idea was to allow you to communicate with them remotely as if they were in front of you, this being with a view to compensating for the distance from your loved ones. To do this, the technology developed by Google promised to see our contacts come alive before our eyes, in the form of realistic holographic projections. We told you about it recently, the first tests had also turned out to be very encouraging.
However, as the health situation has since evolved, Google took the opportunity to review its intentions with Project Starline. If the first prototypes occupied an entire room, and therefore required elaborate equipment, the new version of the project presented yesterday promises a simpler installation… even if it means being less impressive.
Accessibility for the benefit of efficiency? Not necessarily…
For the new iteration of its Project Starline, Google is now promising a smaller version of its tech, closer to a TV in size and shape. This new prototype no longer needs infrared light emitters and special cameras to create a 3D model of your interlocutor. From now on, artificial intelligence will essentially bring them to life, as explained by Andrew Narker, general manager of the Starline Project:
” For our latest prototype, we have developed new AI techniques that only require a few standard cameras to produce higher quality realistic 3D images. Thanks to these advancements, our prototype now looks like a more traditional video conferencing system – ranging from the size of a restaurant booth to a flat screen TV – that is more deployable and accessible. “.
Is the Starline project less impressive in this form? Our colleagues from Engadget were able to try out this new prototype. If it still has a few rare imperfections (sound cuts, flickering images, etc.), the experience is probably no less impressive. Journalist Cherlynn Low, in charge of testing the technology for the site Engadget, for example, expressed that she was impressed by the feeling of realism when an apple was handed to her. Additionally, although there was never physical contact to speak of, she says the precision of the technology has made non-verbal communication much richer than in a traditional call.
Sources: The Verge, Engagement
4