Office workers across the globe have only seen their coworkers as floating heads on video calls for nearly two years. A French startup at the Consumer Electronics Show wants you to see colleagues even when you're far apart.
It may sound like a solution to our dread, but the massive video portal has an intrusive element that makes using it as a work-from- home device ripe for accidents.
It never turns off, which is what it's called. lavitre is permanently opened to another space like the two cabinets at Hogwarts and Borgin and Burkes. It can be blurred for privacy reasons, but having something that's always on in your home office has the potential to get complicated.
The screen is currently used mostly in office settings and at events to present speakers on stage, but Romuald Boulanger, co-founder and CEO of la Vitre, said in an email that expanding to home offices could be in the company's future.
"Why not open it to other scenarios?" he asked.
It isn't the first company to try to make virtual interaction at work more realistic. la Vitre is designed for optimal realism, unlike a tablet on a rolling stick-shaped robot.
Boulanger said it was designed to provide the most immersive experience possible. "Sound and video quality, elimination of noise pollution, everything was thought of to make discussions more fluid."
Would the appearance of your colleague be too realistic if you were at work or at home?
There is no hiding in sweatpants. Credit: la Vitre.
Users tap on the screen to video chat with a colleague. When you hear a knock, one would simply move in front of la Vitre to engage in the conversation. A friendly knock from a digital abyss is the best way to start your day.
Users can share and upload documents while standing face to face with each other. Users can write messages like "help" or "I'm watching you" on the interactive touchscreen. It could happen, hopefully not those messages. The product can translate what's being said in 60 languages into text on screen, but we haven't seen that in action.
Boulanger said that it is more efficient to see each other for 5 minutes through la Vitre than it is to email each other. There are many office workers who wish they could have more meetings in emails. Boulanger said that the company has not set a price for the US market and did not share pricing in other markets.
If you're walking near the portal, make sure to wear pants.
