Smile! New zoom feature prevents you from hiding your face in meetings

In an attempt to remain relevant in a post-pandemic work world, Zoom is unveiling a feature that no one has – a priori – asked for.

Zoom, which apparently wondered how to integrate machine learning into its product, ended up finding it: by tracking your face in a meeting. The technology, which does not really seem to revolutionize Zoom’s offer, could also be very expensive to install for a company.

Zoom’s post-pandemic pivot

Among the few companies that profited from the Covid-19 pandemic and the confinements that accompanied it, Zoom probably took a dim view of the arrival of vaccines and a gradual return to normal. And if some hoped that teleworking would become the norm in the “next world”, companies ended up remembering that the one before allowed them control of another level over their employees. Now, even companies like Google, which create the tools for teleworking, encourage their employees to return to work in the offices.

A problem for many employees, but especially for Zoom, for which containment has been an unprecedented engine of growth. So in an attempt to save what can be saved, Zoom has decided to pivot, to offer solutions for hybrid workspaces, allowing one or a few people to attend meetings for which most participants are present.

It is in this context that the company unveiled this Tuesday the function “Intelligent Director”.

How does Intelligent Director work?

As much to say it right away, if you are not present in the physical meeting room but at the other end of the call, you will not be concerned. Because what Intelligent Director offers is a system of cameras installed in the meeting room, which automatically locate the best angle to capture the face of each participant, by detecting the details of each face. Of course, not all webcams work, so you need models that can support Intelligent Director. This represents a significant investment, for the prospect of seeing a colleague fight against the sun or watch TikTok on the sly. This mainly means that hiding behind another participant, a sheet or a screen becomes considerably more difficult.

For the moment, Zoom explains that this system can track up to sixteen participants in the same meeting, and that it is already available by updating the Windows and Mac versions. But what is certain is that this should not help employers reduce teleworking by making offices more attractive than home. Because on your personal computer, you can always turn off the webcam.

Sources: Gizmodo, Zoom