The American startup, apostrophizing itself as the world’s “first holographic communication platform”, a Proto broadcasts life-size “3D” video to universities, hotels and medical centers. The company has developed a box that can display a video of a person, creating the illusion of three dimensions with some clever graphic smoke.
The device weighs more than 200 kilos and is more than two meters high. It can play both pre-recorded video and live streaming, and any 4K camera, even an iPhone, can be used as a source. While the images aren’t technically holograms, by adding shadows behind the body and reflections under the feet, the box effectively tricks our brains into thinking someone is inside. “We just broadcast William Shatner from Los Angeles to Orlando, Florida, to be at a conference where he couldn’t have been physically there,” said David Nussbaum, the company’s founder and CEO, giving an example of how the technology can be used. He started Proto in 2018. According to him, the company has 45 employees and has sold nearly 1,000 machines so far.
The company has two full-size models, the Proto Epic and the recently introduced, less expensive Proto Luma, with prices starting at $29,000 and going up to $65,000. There is also a desktop version, the Proto M, which is 75 cm tall and weighs just under 15 kilos. It retails for $5,900, but the company offers a full-size model leased for $2,500 a month. Only one Proto is required to establish a call, but Proto-Proto communication is not currently supported; although two Proto users can chat, they both need a second camera, such as a smartphone.
Nussbaum describes Proto as a “connector of business enterprises,” with clients including Amazon, Verizon, Siemens, Accenture, Walmart, the NFL and major US television networks. But he adds that he sees a future where a version of his smallest device “will be in living rooms for under $1,000.” By placing a 2D image in a life-size 3D space, Proto provides a more compelling experience than a traditional video call, he says. “You see me as if I were really there. This means that our conversation is much more authentic. It’s much more captivating,” he said.
Proto boxes have also been installed at New York’s JFK Airport and at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, providing concierge service in suites and penthouse rooms. A similar technology introduced by the Dutch company Holoconnects is used in Scandinavian hotels and was also used by BMW for advertising. Google is working with HP to commercialize Project Starline, which promises to add depth and realism to video conferencing conversations, and Cisco is working to bring “holograms” to Webex.
Proto has recently begun partnering with universities—including Central Florida, MIT, Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Loughborough University in England—and presents guest speakers from around the world. Loughborough University’s Professor of Digital, Gary Burnett, is also a keen user of Proto boxes. “During our initial mini-lecture tests, it was clear that listeners felt a strong sense of being with the hologram speaker – they believed he was ‘in the room’, acting as an empathetic and authentic speaker. Most listeners listened throughout, and although it was not was a formal part of their education, it was clear that they were paying close attention, as measured by a surprise quiz at the end of the lectures. Not surprisingly, with such novel technology, there was also the occasional distraction: students used their own phones to film the experience.”
Earlier this year, Proto began a partnership with the West Cancer Center in suburban Memphis, Tennessee, which allows doctors there to visit clinics in remote areas. “For patients receiving oncology and palliative care, nonverbal communication is critically important as we often convey complex information and sometimes deliver difficult or challenging news,” said W. Clay Jackson, M.D., MD, director of family medicine and psychiatry at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. “With the Proto hologram, the patient experience is much better than in the case of traditional screen-based telemedicine formats. The life-size, three-dimensional image makes the visit truly immersive for the patient and enables them to give and receive communication as effectively as if I were reaching out and touching them.”
One of Dr. Jackson’s patients, Crystal Freeman, says the technology is a more viable option for rural patients than traditional virtual visits. “I’ve had telemedicine consultations before, which were fine, but the service is sometimes lacking and it didn’t really feel like I was at a real doctor’s visit,” he said.
Nussbaum says she uses the technology at home to connect her children in Los Angeles with her parents in New Jersey. According to him, the video call is not yet good enough. “Sure, you can communicate, but you can’t make a connection,” he said. “So I thought, what if I could beam them into each other’s houses? That’s what we’re doing now. So I can get a little glimpse into the future by seeing from 3,000 miles away the the relationship between my parents and my children. To me, that’s one of the greatest things we achieve.”
Source: sg.hu
