Project Starline: Google’s realistic holographic touch to conversations

In the new normal with restrictions and social distancing, families, friends and business meetings have not happened face-to-face. We have all relied on the screens to talk to our loved ones or engage in professional meetings. Unveiled at Google IO 2021, Project Starline aims to change that.

Project Starline brings a more personal feel to the conversations. It is almost like a holographic touch and you feel that the person you are conversing with is right there, life size and in three dimensions complete with all the gestures and eye contact.

Project Starline combines research in computer vision, machine learning, real time compression and spatial audio. The team at Google has had a breakthrough development in creating a light field display system that gives a sense of volume and depth. This eliminates the need for additional headsets or glasses for the 3D feel for the interaction.

It is a breakthrough in combining 3D imaging, real time compression and 3D display. Steve Seitz, Director of Engineering, Google explains,” There are three breakthroughs coming together:

-The ability to capture people as they are.

-Second, the ability to compress that information and send it over existing networks efficiently.

-Third, the ability to render that person viewable through a three-dimensional display.”

Project Starline is now available only in certain Google offices and is dependent on custom built hardware and specialized equipment. To test the Project, Google connected employees between Bay Area, New York and Seattle. Google also states in its blog that it is conducting demos for select enterprise partners in sectors like healthcare and media for feedback and is planning trial deployments for enterprise partners later this year.