Digital headset removal is coming in 2022. engineering CES2022
says they're close to making it happen. At a press conference at CES 2022, the company announced a new service — called"Kokomo" — that could revolutionize face-to-face video calls. Senior innovation designer Jonathan Lorenz introduced the platform, which is expected to hit the market later this year. He called Kokomo a"first-of-its-kind VR platform" that brings"lifelike video calling into virtual reality.
Details are still sketchy, but here's what the company has shared publicly. Each user will set up a Canon camera to capture a video feed of themself and use a smartphone to process that data and send a feed to the person they're talking to. Both users willto see their conversational partner in 180-degree VR, allowing them to see each other's facial expressions in real-time, according to the company.
What's clear is that headset removal isn't ready for anyone outside the company to see. Canon will be showing off a one-way version of the technology at its booth when the CES show floor opens tomorrow, but that display won't include the key aspect of the new platform. Visitors will don a VR headset to have an"ImmersiveCall" with a Canon brand ambassador, who will not be wearing a headset.