“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,” Alex Cho, president of personal systems at HP, said in a statement.
On first impression, the technology appears to have value for one-to-one virtual experiences, said Irwin Lazar, president and principal analyst at Metrigy, though adoption will likely hinge on cost.
Google isn’t the first to attempt realistic videoconferencing, said Lazar, who pointed to systems developed by vendors such as Cisco, Tandberg, Polycom, and HP. However, these telepresence devices failed to gain widespread adoption due to the high cost of deployment, he said.
“So, I’ll reserve some judgement [on Project Starline] until we see the cost,” said Lazar.
Even so, he pointed to continued business investment in innovative video meeting technologies, such as multi-camera systems and center room cameras that aim to help remote participants engage with one another more effectively. “ I do expect that there will be interest in piloting this technology — especially if it’s available within existing meeting apps like Google Meet and Zoom Meetings,” he said.
