- Project Starline launched in 2021 and is now Google Beam
- It's rolling out this year, adding 3D to video calls
- There's also a real-time translation component to the tech
You may have already seen Google's Project Starline tech, which reimagines video calls in full 3D. It was first teased over four years ago, and at Google I/O 2025 we got the news that it's rolling out in full with a new name: Google Beam.
Since its inception, the idea of Google Beam has been to make it feel like you're in the same room as someone when you're on a video call with them. Rather than using headsets or glasses though, it relies on cameras, mics, and AI technology.
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"The combination of our AI video model and our light field display creates a profound sense of dimensionality and depth," says Google. "This is what allows you to make eye contact, read subtle cues, and build understanding and trust as if you were face-to-face."
Beam participants need to sit in a custom-made booth, with a large, curved screen that's able to generate a partly three-dimensional rendering of the person they're speaking to. The first business customers will get the equipment from HP later this year.
Real-time translation
There's another element of Google Beam that's been announced today, and that's real-time translation. As you might expect, this is driven by AI technology, and makes it easier to converse with someone else in a different language.
As per the demo that Google has shown off, the translation is just a second or two behind the speech, and it works in the same way that a translation might be added afterwards on top of someone speaking in a video recording.
It's another impressive part of the Google Beam experience, and offers another benefit for organizations with teams and clients all across the world. According to Google, it can preserve voice, tone, and expression, while changing the language the audio is spoken in.
This part of the experience won't only be available in Google Beam though: it's rolling out now inside Google Meet now for consumers, though you are going to need either the Google AI Pro or the Google AI Ultra plan to access it.
