It seems like the imaging/rendering technology that Google is using is much more advanced.
That said, there was no “emotional connection” like the Google one is described as offering. It was still a video call. There was no forgetting that. I suspect the 3D and the apparent physical closeness to the display add a lot.
Partially there are just affordance issues of things like eye contact which are physically out of alignment unless you start using two way mirrors [1].
https://hackaday.com/2020/05/29/two-way-mirror-improves-vide...
It is impossible for me to explain how/why it works so well.
I think this is cool tech, and valuable. I'm just not sure that it offers a communication benefit over well-lit, well-miced, wired, low latency, 8K videoconferencing.
Maybe there's some 3D emotional perception face processing stuff that we have deep in our brains that can immensely benefit from this, but I'm skeptical. I think simply doing 4k or 8k low latency high quality videoconferencing might be a 90 or 95% solution without needing special cameras/displays.
The state of video conferencing today is a poor one and I'm very excited for something that can change the industry like this.
If Google wanted to make me believe they care about videoconferencing quality, they'd have a 4k 60fps option that auto-enables in Meet if it detects everyone on the call is on wired gigabit with a 4k camera.
Even 100mbps is sufficient for a 1-on-1 4k video call, as high-bitrate 4k is 30-40mbps. Most commercial office buildings in business districts have it available. Even Starlink (20mbps up) should be sufficient for 1-1 30fps 4k videoconferencing with a lower bitrate.
Yes, having low latencies and high definition video is an important aspect of this, but the 3D part is no gimmick. Once the technology improves and gets affordable this is a game changer for how we communicate online. The step after that are holographic displays, and since we'd be used to 3D models and smart displays, it probably won't feel like such a big jump.
I'm _super_ excited about this project. Hopefully Google doesn't axe it. (:
I've got one and the first minute is always noticing how low res the eye screens are, then as soon as the game starts, I've forgotten and I'm _there_. The 3D part makes up for the low quality
>Maybe there's some 3D emotional perception face processing stuff that we have deep in our brains that can immensely benefit from this, but I'm skeptical.
>I think simply doing 4k or 8k low latency high quality videoconferencing might be a 90 or 95% solution without needing special cameras/displays.
From my experience, 4k or 8k doesn't matter. Sound quality actually matters most, really clear low latency audio alone will give you a surprisingly strong sense of presence.
Video quality is important but 1080p is enough, beyond that the lighting and latency matter more.
Equally important from my personal POV is video size - physical size. Take a cheap 65 inch TV, turn it vertically, and talk to someone on that. When your talking to someone that is actually life size the sense of presence is vastly improved, even at the exact same video quality. And TVs are so cheap this doesn't seem like much of a techical barrier.
If you just screen share from your cell phone to your 65 inch TV and video chat -- holding everything else equal for audio and video quality -- it's SO MUCH BETTER.
https://augmentedperception.github.io/deepviewvideo/
WebAssembly SIMD is coming to Chrome as well. 2D images and video that only consisted of RGB and Alpha channels may appear downright primitive to future generations as depth camera rigs gain distribution ;)
Even from viewing the short demo, the stereo display alone is an entirely new dimension that no amount of studio lighting will recreate. While better lighting and audio setup would certainly improve the average person's videoconferencing experience, this looks to be a genuine step beyond.
That said, we've been seeing holographic-display prototypes for the better part of a decade, and it'll be interesting if this actually pans out or fizzles.