Project Starline is really happening Google teams up with HP to bring its super HD video conferencing service to the world

Date:
Tue, 14 May 2024 16:02:11 +0000

Description:
Google continues evangelizing face-to-face contact at work as it partners
with HP to put you in the same room as someone else without actually being there.

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Google has begun commercializing Project Starline, its 3D video conferencing
- or, as it calls it, its magic window technology, with a partnership with hardware manufacturer HP.

First announced back in 2021 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Starline aims to recreate the feeling of being in the same room as other people when that isnt a possibility. Though face-to-face contact isnt so much of a far-off fantasy anymore, Google is pushing on, with a press release touting advancements in
AI , 3D imaging, and other technologies as powering the product.

Starline, which relies on custom-built hardware and highly specialized equipment, was previously confined to Google offices and selected partners, but now the company is preparing to bring the hybrid work product to business customers by 2025 - starting with common video conferencing apps like Google Meet and Zoom . The future of collaboration

HPs President of Personal Systems, Alex Cho, is keen to stress that theres much more to Starlines than anything a basic webcam and microphone (or business laptop ) can achieve.

With more than half of meaning and intent communicated through body language versus words alone, an immersive collaboration experience plays an important role in creating authentic human connections in hybrid environments, he says.

The official line in the press release is that tricking your brain into feeling as though youre in the same room as a colleague increases attentiveness, memory recall, and, um, an overall sense of presence.

Google and HP almost certainly have research to push this narrative, but for this writers money, experiencing Starline solely through PR bluster and representative GIFs, the product feels superfluous, especially when the opening pitch is you can talk, gesture, and make eye contact with another person - nothing new.

If offices want to invest in this technology, thats their prerogative, but then - arent employees in the office anyway? Dont the benefits of Starlines immersive collaboration rely on both participants of a conversation having access to Starline booths?

The simplicity of a webcam and microphone is that theyre compact and portable - built into almost every device in this day and age. Starlines custom high-tech booths, like its bombastic name, not only feel like the antithesis of that, but also the ultimate premium. Though Im prepared to eat my words later, my gut tells me Google will struggle to find enterprise customers thrilled about footing the bill. More from TechRadar Pro Weve listed the top technology you need for working remotely Business AI spend set to continue rising - but are companies ready for the new tech? Sage unveils Copilot, SMB tools to help boost productivity for all businesses



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/software-services/project-starline-is-really-hap pening-google-teams-up-with-hp-to-bring-its-super-hd-video-conferencing-servic e-to-the-world


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