Our system achieves key 3D audiovisual cues (stereopsis, motion parallax, and spatialized audio) and enables the full range of communication cues (eye contact, hand gestures, and body language), yet does not require special glasses or body-worn microphones\/headphones. The system consists of a head-tracked autostereoscopic display, high-resolution 3D capture and rendering subsystems, and network transmission using compressed color and depth video streams. Other contributions include a novel image-based geometry fusion algorithm, free-space dereverberation, and talker localization.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Effectively, Project Starline is gathering information and presenting it in such a way that creates the perception of depth (stereopsis), using the two spaced-out biological cameras in our skulls. Spatial audio, meanwhile, serves a similar function for sound, calibrating the speakers to give the impression that the speaker\u2019s voice is coming out of their virtual mouth.<\/p>\n

Google has been testing this specific prototype version for some time now with WeWork, T-Mobile and Salesforce \u2014 presumable the sorts of big corporate clients that would be interested in such a thing. The company says much of the feedback revolves around how true to life the experience is versus things like Google Meet, Zoom and Webex \u2014 platforms that saved our collective butts during the pandemic, but still have a good deal of limitations.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve likely heard people complain \u2014 or complained yourself \u2014 about the things we lost as we moved from the in-person meeting to virtual. It\u2019s an objectively true sentiment. Obviously Project Starline is still very much a virtual experience, but can probably trick your brain into believing otherwise. For the sake of a workplace meeting, that\u2019s frankly probably more than enough.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no timeline here and no pricing. Google referred to it as a \u201ctechnology project\u201d during our meeting. Presumably the ideal outcome for all of the time and money spent on such a project is a saleable product. The eventual size and likely pricing will almost certainly be out of reach for most of us. I could see a more modular version of the camera system that clips onto the side of a TV or computer doing well.<\/p>\n