In 2021, Google began work on Project Starline, a corporate teleconferencing platform that uses 3D imaging, cameras, and a custom-designed display to allow people to chat with someone as if they were in the same room, more or less.
Now, after years of private testing and technical advancements (and development setbacks due to a division reorganization), Google is bringing Starline to customers in partnership with HP.
in a technology/research/google-project-starline-hp-partnership/”>blog entry Released ahead of Google I/O, Google said it will collaborate with HP to begin shipping Starline sometime in 2025. Google is also working to integrate Starline with popular video conferencing services like Zoom and Google Meet, the company says.
“This marks a significant step toward a world where connection and collaboration are possible no matter where you are,” Andrew Narkter, CEO of Project Starline, said in a statement. “We will share more details later this year.”
As my colleague Brian Heater wrote about his hands-on experience last year, Starline is still largely a virtual experience, but you can probably trick your brain into believing otherwise. The question is: With many workplaces transitioning to fully in-person setups after the pandemic, will there be much demand for Starline, which initially seemed aimed primarily at hybrid offices that frequently meet with remote workers?
According According to a Resume Builder survey, 90% of companies with office space will have returned to the office by 2024. Although research has failed to draw definitive conclusions about the productivity of remote workers, the perception among many in the high direction: tech-companies-return-to-office-mandates-globally/#:~:text=Return%2Dto%2Doffice%20mandates%20in,2024%2C%20by%20number%20of%20days&text=As%20of%20January%202024%2C%20several,least%20three%20days%20per%20week.”>especially in technology – is that working from home is something of a failed experiment.
But perhaps some customers can justify Starline solely for virtual office-to-office conferencing. In fact, Google said last year that WeWork, T-Mobile and Salesforce and 100 other enterprise partners were testing a prototype version of the technology.
