Dial M for 3D Calls
- By CDOTrends editors
- September 28, 2022
The world of holographic calls has moved a step closer after a series of successful European trials involving leading telcos working with the platform developed by software company Matsuko.
Telefonica, Vodafone, Orange, and Deutsche Telekom all worked with Matsuko to carry out a series of advanced tests, intending to standardize holographic calls to make them as easy as video calls.
The key is linking the virtual and real worlds through mobile connections, using 5G connectivity to deliver realistic 3D images created from a smartphone camera in real-time.
The video is recorded in 2D and sent into the cloud. It is then rendered 3D and relayed to the receiver in augmented reality, virtual reality, or mixed reality environments.
The tests were carried out in Dusseldorf, Paris, Madrid, and Bonn, and the telcos all reported success.
There was positive feedback on the Matsuko platform, which delivered good color and texture resolution and increased realism when viewed on a screen without needing video headsets.
“We are confident that in the near future, we will be able to offer our customers a new way to communicate, using this new holographic technology to deliver a more immersive ‘virtually there’ experience,” said Daniel Hernandez, vice president of devices and IoT at Telefonica.
Matsuko chief executive Matus Kirchmayer said the pilot's objective was to deliver a “one to many” holographic experience with a virtualized broadcast approach that enables an audience to see an individual present virtually — like a hologram — “with stunning realism.”
The company has created a holographic calling app that fills in the missing element of video conferencing, the human presence.
Its software-only solution allows the modeling of people in 3D and transfers them in real space and real-time using existing smartphone camera technology.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Maria Korneeva