Editor's take: Logitech is working on an elaborate video conferencing project designed to simulate what it's like to have an in-person conversation with someone far away. The tech sounds interesting enough but will it find traction when we already have devices like webcams and smartphones that can offer a similar experience for far less money?
Project Ghost is a lot like Project Starline, which Google announced in mid-2021. It's essentially a video chat booth that uses existing Logitech video conferencing technology and a special type of glass to project an image of the person you are talking to.
The Verge sat in on a briefing ahead of Logitech's public demo at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference in Barcelona, Spain, and said the visuals work much like a teleprompter using the Pepper's ghost illusion technique. While they didn't get to try it out first hand, Logitech assured them that the visual illusion has a decent margin of error meaning you don't have to be perfectly centered with the camera for it to look proper.
Latency is another potential concern but again, Logitech doesn't think this will be an issue. Rishi Kumar, Logitech's director of alliances and go-to-market for its video collaboration group, said there is no added latency compared to a standard Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom call. Speaking of, Project Ghost is said to be certified for use with all three of these popular video conferencing platforms.
Logitech is partnering with furniture maker Steelcase on the project to help foster a comfortable experience. The goal is to launch the video chat booth within a year, although Logitech wants to conduct public demos like the one in Barcelona between now and then to gauge consumer feedback and see if they need to make any changes before bringing it to market.
Kumar didn't mention a specific price point for Project Ghost but said it will be close to what you would expect to pay for video conferencing technology in a room plus what you'd expect to pay for comparable furniture.