Billing itself as the world’s “first holographic communications platform,” US startup Proto is beaming life-size, “3D” video into universities, hotels and medical centers.
The company has developed a box — which weighs over 400 pounds and is taller than the average NBA player — that can show a video of a person, giving the illusion of three-dimensionality through some clever graphical smoke and mirrors.
The boxes can reproduce pre-recorded video as well as a live feed, and any 4K camera, including an iPhone, can be used as the source. Although the images aren’t technically holograms, by adding shadows behind the body and reflections under the feet the box effectively tricks the brain into believing there could be someone inside it.
“We just beamed William Shatner from Los Angeles to Orlando, Florida, to be at a convention that he couldn’t physically be at,” said David Nussbaum, the company’s founder and CEO, giving one example of how the technology can be used.
Nussbaum, whose background is in radio and podcasting, started Proto in 2018. He says the company has 45 employees and has sold nearly 1,000 units.
It has two full-size models — the Proto Epic and a newly launched, more economic redesign called the Proto Luma — which start at $29,000 and go up to $65,000. There is also the Proto M, a tabletop version that stands 30 inches tall and weighs just under 30 pounds, selling for $5,900.
That’s an awful lot more than a standard Zoom call, although the company does offer a full-size model on a lease for $2,500 a month.
Only one Proto is needed to set up a call, but Proto-to-Proto communication is currently not supported; while it is possible for two Proto users to chat, they still both need a second camera, such as a smartphone.
Nussbaum describes Proto as “business to business company,” with clients including Amazon (AMZN), Verizon (VZ), Siemens, Accenture, Walmart (WMT), the NFL and major US TV networks. But he adds that he sees a future where a version of its smallest device is “in living rooms for under $1,000.”
He said that by putting a 2D image in a life-size 3D space, Proto creates a more compelling experience than a standard video call. “You’re seeing me like I’m actually there. That means our conversation is more authentic. It’s more engaging,” he said.
Proto boxes have been used at New York’s JFK airport and at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, California, offering a concierge service in suites and penthouses.
A similar technology launched by Dutch company Holoconnects has been deployed at hotels in Scandinavia, and used for advertising by BMW. Google is collaborating with HP to commercialize its Project Starline, which promises to bring more depth and realism to video conferencing conversations, and Cisco is working on bringing “holograms” to Webex.
Recently, Proto has started working with universities — including Central Florida, MIT, Vanderbilt, Stanford, and the University of Loughborough in the UK — beaming in guest lecturers from around the world.
Gary Burnett, a professor of digital creativity at Loughborough University, who has experience with the Proto boxes, said: “In our initial mini-lecture tests, it was clear that students felt a strong sense of co-presence with the hologram speaker — believing them to be ‘in the room,’ sentient and behaving as an authentic lecturer.”
“Most students were paying attention throughout the session and although this was not a formal part of their education, it was apparent that they were learning, as measured by a surprise quiz at the end of the lectures. Not surprisingly with such novel technology, we had some evidence of occasional distraction, usually in the form of students using their own phones to film the experience.”
Earlier this year, Proto started a partnership with West Cancer Center, a clinic in a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, allowing doctors there to be beam into clinics in remote areas.
“For oncology and palliative care patients, non-verbal communication is critically important, because we are often conveying complex information and sometimes delivering difficult or challenging news,” said W. Clay Jackson, a physician at the clinic and a professor of family medicine and psychiatry at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.
“The patient experience with the Proto hologram is vastly superior to traditional, screen-based tele-health formats. The life-size, three-dimensional image truly immerses the patient in the visit, allowing them to give and receive communication as effectively as if I could reach out and touch them.”
One of Dr. Jackson’s patients, Crystal Freeman, says the technology is a much more viable solution than standard virtual visits for rural patients. “I have (had) tele-health visits, which were ok, but service is sometimes spotty and you really didn’t have the feel like you were in an actual doctor visit,” she said.
Nussbaum says he uses the technology at home to connect his children in Los Angeles with his parents in New Jersey — a scenario where he says even a video call doesn’t quite cut it.
“Sure, you could communicate, but you can’t connect,” he said. “So I thought, what if I could beam them into each other’s house? Now we’re doing that. So for me, I’m seeing a little glimpse into the future by watching my parents and my kids have a relationship from 3,000 miles away. That, to me, is one of the greatest things that we’re doing.”
