There is an internet myth that NASA spent millions of tax dollars on developing a space pen that could write in zero gravity. The Soviet Cosmonauts simply used pencils. While a Space Pen is actually a thoughtfully-designed product, the old meme persists because people easily believe NASA would overcomplicate things. Complexity thrives in organizations that push the boundaries of what’s possible. An alternative approach to delivering a successful product is to better leverage already-known science.This brings me to Project Starline. Last May, Google unveiled Project Starline as a cutting-edge technology intended to revolutionize video conferencing. Project Starline created a 3D face-to-face experience across a virtual table. It was a fantastic glimpse into the future of meetings that leveraged high-resolution cameras and a combination of computer vision, machine learning, and advanced graphics processing.
