It’s been five years since Google first offered a glimpse of Project Starline, a three-dimensional videoconferencing platform billed at the time as as a “magic window” that enables realistic and immersive calls.
On Wednesday, Google announced that Google Beam — as the software element of the product is now called — is generally available for purchase, built into HP’s Dimension video meeting hardware. The Dimension hardware reportedly costs around $25,000 per unit; Google did not provide details for costs related to hardware or additional software licenses. The combined products will be sold in six countries at first: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, UK, and US.
Google has also partnered with co-working space provider Industrious to make Beam available to try at its locations across the US, including Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Palo Alto.
Beam “offers the potential for immersive, 3D engagement, without the challenge of wearables,” said Irwin Lazar, principal analyst at Metrigy.
“This is one of those ‘you have to try it’ experiences to understand the value proposition,” said Avi Greengart, president and founder of Techsponential. “It really does feel like you’re talking to someone a half a world away, with all your micro-expressions and nonverbal cues intact.
“This doesn’t just save you travel time and budget, it enables closer collaboration throughout a project or working relationship that provides different value than occasional live visits, which you may still need.”
Google began developing the Beam technology several years before it was unveiled amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote working as offices were shuttered. It combines AI-generated 3D images of participants with spatial audio to create the sense of being in the same room.
The hardware has evolved considerably since then, with Google and HP shrinking the original large video booth into a smaller system that more closely resembles a conventional videoconferencing setup.
The 65-inch Dimension display renders meeting participants in their full size, and includes the cameras, 12-microphone array, and LED lighting required for the Beam software. Google Meet and Zoom video meeting apps are supported.
While Beam currently enables one-to-one meetings, Google recently highlighted its efforts to enable group calls, too. This is currently at an experimental stage.
Google claimed that an internal study showed 50% of Google staffers who used Beam felt more connected, resulting in a 21% drop in the need for follow-up meetings.
Select customers were granted early access last year, ahead of today’s full launch. One of them, management consulting firm Bain, uses Beam to interview job candidates remotely, reporting that it helps interviewers pick up on nuances of body language and eye contact without needing to meet in person. This also saved on travel costs, the company said in a promotional video.
It remains to be seen whether the technology will gain a wider audience. The price tag will “present somewhat of a barrier to adoption,” said Lazar. He expects early adopters will target specific use cases such as “executive meetings, hiring interviews, product demos, and high-stakes engagement.”
Greentgart described Beam as a “network-effect system,” as the technology is required on both ends of a Beam call. “That makes the expansion of Google Beam on HP Dimension to more locations crucial,” he said. “I expect that some companies will try it at a conference center before investing in endpoints inside their own companies.”