OAKLAND, California ¨C Google¡¯s Project Starline 3D videoconferencing system, unveiled last week, is well-timed for a post-pandemic world but still has a long way to go in seamlessly marrying the in-person and the virtual, three people who have used the system say.
Alphabet Inc.¡¯s Google and its rivals, including Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc., all view ¡°mixed reality,¡± as it is sometimes known, as the next big new wave in computing ¡ª following smartphones ¡ª and all are staking out fresh ground.
Starline uses pricey cameras, sensors and cutting-edge screens to generate an illusion of depth, allowing users seated in special booths in different locations to see each other ¡°life-size and in three dimensions,¡± as Google puts it. ¡°You can talk naturally, gesture and make eye contact.¡±
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