June 2, 2008 3:13 PM
Telepresence Goes 3D
Wow! That's the best word to describe this.
Cisco's Telepresence has always had a high wow factor, but go watch the video on the page linked above to see something really incredible: Telepresence in 3D.
Cisco partnered with Musion, a UK company that has developed a 3D projection technology, to create a version of telepresence that instead of using large HD screens projects the images of the people you're talking to in 3D.
The effect it creates on stage is fantastic. In fact, if you didn't know it was a 3D projection of a remote video stream, you might not know that the two guys on the right aren't actually physically there on stage.
They specifically refer to this demo as being intended for the stage, so I don't know how effective it is today in terms of enabling a robust dialog, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by the main speaker's comment that what we're witnessing here is the future of communications, and that the intent is to take this technology to the mass market some day.
So the promise of having a remote conversation that looks like the person's in the room with you isn't something reserved for the distant future but is already possible today.
What a world we live in!
