The person facing you appears so real that you instinctively reach out to touch them.
In fact, that is the only thing that reminds you that they are not right before you – instead of in the next room, across the city or halfway around the globe.
For in every other aspect, Google Starline's 3D video calling technology is dazzlingly realistic, so much so they have called it the “magic window”.
This week, after years of methodical research and quiet enthusiasm, the technology company said it was finally ready to commercialise Project Starline, which could well and truly upset the apple cart of the communications world.
Google will work with computer maker HP to bring its system into homes from 2025. There are further plans to integrate it with Google Meet and Zoom.
The news came after nearly a decade of development that was kept hush-hush, except for a brief announcement in 2021, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic may be over but the systems developed in that time have changed and, in the process, changed the way we work, travel (at least for work) and communicate across the board.
You could be forgiven for thinking Google may have missed the boat, given the dominance of Zoom and Teams – but Google has a far bigger play at hand.
Glimpse of the future
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos in January, selected reporters were invited to try Project Starline with those who helped to create the technology, and The National was among them.
In an upstairs room of a quaint Swiss hotel, with snow piled high on the steps up to it, we were given a demonstration on the condition we would not record anything or write about it at the time.
We took it in turns to speak to each other from the room next door.
The results were more than impressive.
It is not just the crystal clear screen and lifelike appearance of a friend or relative that makes this so sought-after.
It is the potential for this technology that comes with it. For a medical doctor to be able to talk a patient through a procedure, with props or tools before them, for a teacher and student to learn a language huddled together, and for far-flung relatives to break down the barrier of the screen, it holds huge promise.
Items held in your hand and waved look startlingly real, at least in the booth in which the device we tried was set up.
The magic is only broken when you lean far forwards or backwards – the effect is like breaking through a Zoom background – or if you try to thrust an apple through the screen to your friend.
“After thousands of hours of testing across Google offices and with enterprise partners, we found that meetings in Starline feel more like being in the same room instead of traditional video calls,” the Alphabet-owned company said this week.
What remains to be seen is how much this technology will cost, and there has not even been a ballpark figure given.
Google said it is taking Project Starline “out of the lab” and bringing it to the workplace – and that gives you a hint of cost and initial use.
But Google and HP probably want their technology to reach as large a market as possible, and as with all technology, costs will surely come down over time.
This is no VR headset
This also is not Oculus, the VR headset that takes you into an immersive world, or Apple Vision, which costs $3,500 to $4,000.
Instead of feeling inside of a 3D-generated room as with Oculus, with fake hands and slightly pixelated view – which after a while gives you a weird dizzy feeling – Starlink is more like a vision from the computer beaming into your actual space.
It feels like you are speaking to a person in a room. Even the subtleties of human interaction have been factored in.
And the sound moves as you move your head, in the same way as the latest spatial headphones.
At a time when many companies are getting fed up with apps such as Zoom and Teams – particularly dozens of faces in little boxes on a screen, struggling to keep focused – this could be a game-changer.
But how soon we see it opened up outside the workplace could be the biggest factor in its success.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
WHY%20AAYAN%20IS%20'PERFECT%20EXAMPLE'
%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The studios taking part (so far)
- Punch
- Vogue Fitness
- Sweat
- Bodytree Studio
- The Hot House
- The Room
- Inspire Sports (Ladies Only)
- Cryo
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The biog
Name: Capt Shadia Khasif
Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police
Family: Five sons and three daughters
The first female investigator in Hatta.
Role Model: Father
She believes that there is a solution to every problem
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
