If you are actively following the development of Internet technologies, you may have heard about the Starline project from Google. It is a “holographic” immersive communication tool; the concept was demonstrated at the Google I/O 2021 conference.

Today, we will present more details about this technology, its prospects, and advantages over available means of communication on the Web. We believe you’ll find this article interesting!

Communication formats that are available to contemporaries

When we talk about communication formats, social networks and messengers come to mind. These are popular and massive platforms for communication, but in recent years, there has been a significant preponderance in favor of instant messengers, and not social networks. Users prefer convenient, minimalistic, and functional messengers instead of bulky and frankly overloaded social networks.

The first popular format is Zoom and similar services for online video conferencing. The real surge in the popularity of such platforms came in 2020-2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the mass self-isolation of billions of people. Education, work, and communication have rapidly flowed into the Web, and video communication applications have become super popular. Currently, the demand is decreasing, but this process is definitely slow.

The second popular communication format is random video chats for dating and communication such as Omegle. They serve as a great alternative to dating sites and apps, allowing you to meet new people easily and quickly, find like-minded people, make new friends, or even meet the love of your life. Generally, Omegle is far from the most functional video chat. However, in today’s world, there are alternatives to Omegle for every taste such as website videochatomegle.com, ome.tv, and other video chats. Here, you have a convenient gender filter, a built-in translator, better moderation, and much more. We recommend you try them!

Nonetheless, we didn’t forget about dating sites and apps that are already familiar to everyone, where you can also date, chat, make friends, and look for love. After a surge in popularity amid the pandemic, they are also experiencing some outflow of users but remain very popular.

What Starline by Google offers users and how the new platform differs from all of the above

What is Starline and why is this technology different from anything we’ve seen before?

Fans of science fiction will surely remember more than one example of how characters in the movie communicate using holograms. We’ve seen this in Star Wars, Star Trek, and many other places. Currently, something similar is being created by Google.

The goal of the developers is to create a communication tool in which users will not only see each other on the screen but will be able to interact in three-dimensional space in real time. Although the technology is not yet ready for mass use, it already looks promising.

However, it’s not that simple…

If you thought that Starline would be something like a small projector that would create a three-dimensional image around itself, then this is not so. Now, Starline is a large cabin, literally crammed with cameras and sensors that read a person’s appearance from all angles and then transfer it to the server. Next, images and videos are collected and subsequently sent to the interlocutor.

The interlocutor does not see the image directly in front of them, but through a special panel; you seem to communicate with a person through the glass. The picture quality is very high and three-dimensional. There is a presence effect, but it is definitely not 100%. You cannot, for instance, stand up and go around the “hologram” from all sides. Therefore, it doesn’t equate with the level of science fiction movies.

Currently, Project Starline is available only in some Google offices, the equipment for Starline is bought on request, and the installation and configuration process remains complicated and expensive at the moment. However, Google is confident that it is in this direction that communication technologies should develop in the near future, because telephone conversations, texting, and even video conferencing are technologically outdated.

The Starline project still has a long and difficult way to go. However, if it develops and attracts more interested users, alternatives will certainly appear leading to competition. Whenever you have competition, there is always rapid development that leads to future cost reduction. However, it is definitely worth following the development of Starline. Perhaps this is the technology that will forever change our understanding of communication on the Internet.

Is it worth it for regular users to wait for Starline by Google to enter the mass market?

Google’s Starline project looks fresh and interesting. Nonetheless, let’s be realistic, there is no talk of any of its mass markets in the near future. So far, the technology is too complex, cumbersome, and expensive to be implemented at the user level looking at other video chat or dating services we are using currently.

Additionally, do not forget that Google is a company that often closes its experimental projects; even those that were prophesied a great future. One example is Google Stadia (cloud gaming). The project never took off, so the company decided to completely stop its support and further development.

We can’t guess what will happen to Starline by Google next. Perhaps the project will develop actively and gradually become more massive. However, this will not happen soon. Therefore, at the moment, we just have to stick to using more traditional means of online communication and following the news. There are certainly many more interesting things ahead.