Talks to Watch

Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together

1.2M views · May 18, 2021 · 1:51 · 2 HN recommenders · 5 mentions · discussed 2021–2024

Google's short promo for Project Starline, a booth that shows a life-size, three-dimensional view of the person you are talking to. It presents the technology as a magic window for friends, families and co-workers who are far apart.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN mostly uses it as a reference point for how much better video calls could get, with some skepticism about what the demo leaves out.

“No headset to wear. No disorientation. You just sit down and you're there with somebody else.”HN comment, 2023

What Hacker News said 5

RecommendsmindoverJan 2023

“Video calls in AR could be vastly better, not just a little bit, but basically a completely different experience/relationship.”

Starline suggests video calls could become a completely different experience.

Full comment

We might just not know what we are missing. I used to think that video calls is a solved problem until I saw Google's Project Starline [0]. Video calls in AR could be vastly better, not just a little bit, but basically a completely different experience/relationship. [0] this video

in “Apple headset leak reveals new details and confirms earlier rumors” · view on HN
Recommendsjonas21Mar 2023

“No headset to wear. No disorientation. You just sit down and you're there with somebody else.”

Headset-free, you just sit down and feel present with someone.

Full comment

I think the most promising Metaverse technology might be something like Starline [1]. No headset to wear. No disorientation. You just sit down and you're there with somebody else. [1] this video

in “Who is still inside the metaverse?” · view on HN
Cites italanwreathNov 2021

Speculates such tech could end the work-from-home debate.

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WFH vs No WFH vs Hybrid WFH has become the new emacs vs vi vs vscode (order not important), but I wonder if it will all go away when projects like this video become as available as a web browser

in “Apple has a new work-from-home policy, but it’s still not what employees want” · view on HN
Cites itesafakJan 2024

“see how users respond to the realism”

Tech demo showing user reactions to photorealistic calls.

Full comment

This is true of games, but not other applications. You need photorealism to have immersive video calls -- as if you are meeting in person. Here is a tech demo by Google; see how users respond to the realism: this video So we do need more immersive technology; just maybe not for games.

in “We need technology that is less immersive, not more” · view on HN
CriticalachowMay 2021

“they don't show the participants touching the glass pane 'separating' them”

Notes the demo conspicuously avoids showing participants touching the glass.

Full comment

If you watch the video of it: this video Interesting thing to note is that they don't show the participants touching the glass pane 'separating' them, whereas for that kind of situation it would be very very natural thing to do. I guess doing so (reaching towards the 'glass pane') would make the imagery distort/degrade real fast as you would start going out of camera's FoV, which that would break the magic.

in “Project Starline: Feel like you're there, together” · view on HN