In recent years, the quality of video calls on both mobile and desktop platforms has increased significantly. This trend was set because of cheap cameras and high-quality Internet connection speed becoming faster and faster. Even in these circumstances, the holographic video calls experiences reproduced in Star Wars are still a dream.
Fortunately, Microsoft Research, a department for special projects of the American company, is doing small steps in implementation the SF video chat experiences in the comfort of our homes. The project is named Room2Room and it was first presented by MIT Technology Review. Basically, this innovative project is inspired from Room Alive, another futuristic project of Microsoft’s division.
The system behind it is not very complex, but it will take a long time to be integrated into a commercial solution. Basically, a smart camera scans the room to find people and using a projector it transmit the video stream with those identified in the other corner of the world, in the end, the process being carried out simultaneously in two directions. Although it still needs a lot of polish to be done, the important part is that you talk to a friend in real size in front of you, even if it is reproduced in 2D.
Now that you have the idea, with little effort and a significant investment, it’s possible that one day you will purchase this product in one form or another. The people at Microsoft Research said there is still a matter of several years until the holographic video calls system will reach the stores.