Skip to main content

Google’s Project Starline is a magic mirror to bring 3D video chatting to life

Most of us have imagined a future when we can view holographic images of people in three dimensions. You know, where you push a button and your loved one pops up in your living room? At Google I/O 2021, we realized the dream of viewing a model of our loved ones in person might just be closer than we think. Google’s Project Starline is working to make it possible for you to view a life-sized 3D model of a family member or friend when communicating with them, therefore enhancing personal interaction and mimicking the experience you get when talking to someone face-to-face.

To use Project Starline, users sit at a desk that almost resembles a vanity, as it’s surrounded by lights and it has a mirror-like window in front of the user. As the user and the guest chat back and forth, the person on the opposite end looks like they’re actually sitting at the table. However, it’s really a virtual representation created by lights and compressed data. Google describes the experience you get when using Project Starline as though you’re “looking through a sort of magic window, and through that window, you see another person, life-size and in three dimensions. You can talk naturally, gesture, and make eye contact.”

The reason why it’s so difficult to create a life-like model like this is that it requires a great deal of data, computing power, camera advancements, and accuracy. Google is using research in areas like machine learning, real-time compression, and spatial audio to make this possible. The search giant also developed a light field system that allows you to see volume and depth in an image without the need for glasses or another augmentation device like a headset.

As of right now, you can’t purchase a device that uses the technology, as it’s only available in a few of Google’s offices and it requires custom equipment. However, over time, Google wants to make it more affordable to the general public. We’ll be watching for Project Starline technology, and we’ll keep you posted on any new developments in the future. For now, we’ll just have to keep video chatting, but we’re excited to see what comes of Project Starline.

Editors' Recommendations

Erika Rawes
Smart Home Evergreen Coordinator
Erika became a professional writer in 2010, and her work is published all over the web on sites ranging from USA Today to…
I put the RTX 4060 Ti up against the RX 6700 XT — and there’s a surprising winner
RX 6700 XT graphics card installed in computer.

You generally expect that a new generation of graphics cards will outperform the previous generation, but we're in a precarious spot this time around. Nvidia's recent RTX 4060 Ti hasn't been met with a warm reception, and cheaper last-gen options like the RX 6700 XT have looked increasingly attractive as their prices come down.

I threw both cards on my test bench to see which is the better one to buy, and there's a clear winner. There are some important considerations to keep in mind before picking up either GPU, though.
Where's the value?

Read more
These ingenious ideas could help make AI a little less evil
profile of head on computer chip artificial intelligence

Right now, there’s plenty of hand-wringing over the damage artificial intelligence (AI) can do. To offset that, Firefox maker Mozilla set out to encourage more accountable use of AI with its Responsible AI Challenge, and the recently announced winners of the contest show that the AI-infused future doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom.

The first prize of $50,000 went to Sanative AI, which “provides anti-AI watermarks to protect images and artwork from being used as training data” for the kind of large-language models that power AI tools like ChatGPT. There has been much consternation from photographers and artists over their work being used to train AI without permission, something Sanative AI could help to remedy.

Read more
Off to college? Acer just slashed the price of this Chromebook to $200
The Acer Chromebook 314 at a side angle.

Chromebook deals are a special bunch of great value options a lot of the time. We've spotted a particularly great one over at Acer. Right now, you can buy the Acer Chromebook 314 for $200 saving you $100 off the regular price of $300. Even better, if you use the code GRADS10 at checkout, you save an extra 10% so the Chromebook cost just $180. If previous laptop deals have been too pricey for you, this could be the one you've been waiting for. It has all the essentials you need from a Chromebook and even sports a full HD screen. Here's what else you need to know about it.

Why you should buy the Acer Chromebook 314
Acer is one of the best laptop brands for affordable computing, thanks to it knowing how to get the most from a tight budget. The Acer Chromebook 314 has all you could need in this price range. It offers an Intel Celeron N4020 processor along with 4GB of memory and 64GB of eMMC storage. If this system were running Windows 11, it'd be very sluggish but when running Chrome OS, it performs well.

Read more