The pandemic changed the world in many ways, but one that impacts daily is the now normal hybrid work model. Phil Tann explores an innovative new solution aimed at ensuring not just connectivity, but connection, in this space.

The hybrid work environment, while a delight for the employees (with reduced travel time and improved work-life balance) has arguably created a disconnect among staff, particularly in cases where meeting equity is not met.

But Logitech is aiming to bridge that disconnect, as well as bringing geographically diverse social groups and families together with a new concept demonstrated at ISE 2023: Project Ghost.

The idea is a collaboration between Logitech and Steelcase in an effort to reconnect with colleagues regardless of geographic barriers.

Logitech’s manager of alliances and go-to-market, Alex Mooney, says that the collaboration between his company and Steelcase was a natural fit.

“Steelcase specialises in designing innovative furniture solutions for the workplace that promote collaboration, creativity, and productivity. With extensive experience in creating furniture that meets the evolving needs of the modern workplace, and a commitment to sustainability, they are an obvious choice to partner with to bring Project Ghost to life. With Steelcase’s expertise, we were able to refine the furniture, shroud, and material selection to make a warm and inviting space that is equally beautiful and functional.”

What is Project Ghost?

Project Ghost has been developed to work seamlessly with the mainstream options for video conferencing: Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. It is a walk-in conference booth that makes it feel like you’re actually face-to-face with your colleagues. This is achieved through clever utilisation and concealment of the technology, positioning of cameras, speakers and microphones, as well as presentation of the other call participants to feel like you’re face to face and actually making eye contact with them.

The booth is a comfortable walk-in space, with furniture designed for comfort and appropriate lighting controls. The presentation screen has a shroud to ensure your conversation remains private and a workspace so you can remain productive if that is the purpose of your call.

Logitech’s Project Ghost prototype will be doing the rounds at trade shows this year, giving people the chance to test out the innovative new meeting unit.

Interestingly, the hardware involved isn’t outrageous and is based on existing systems from Logitech: The Rally Plus and Roommate, a collective value of around AU$3,600 for the two. This existing hardware can integrate into existing corporate video conferencing systems, allowing IT teams to monitor and administrate the systems as they would with any other hardware.

The development of the final product was a staged approach, first looking at the hardware and layout, then working on the environmental build to make call participants as comfortable as possible.

Speaking about the evolution of the project, Logitech’s director of alliances and go-to-market, Rishi Kumar, says that the first public unveil at ISE marked the beginning of capturing formal user feedback: “Next, there will be user trials throughout 2023. As you’ve seen, we’ve iterated multiple times and will continue to iterate based on user experience and feedback. After significant field testing, the team will determine whether to bring it to market in 2024 or sooner, and if so, what form that will take.”

The purpose of Project Ghost is to forge a stronger, more personal connection between callers. Utilising technology more discretely within the environment allowing people to focus on each other.

So, why the name?

The reason is quite simple, it’s because the presentation of your caller is inspired by Pepper’s Ghost, an optical trick that can make a “ghost” appear on stage next to an actor. The real life trick is achieved through the use of mirrors and a pane of glass to catch the reflection.

The clever positioning of the hardware behind the life-sized projection of the person on the other end of the call results in a more true-to-life connection.

And interest in the product has been high, with the main questions being asked of the company: when will it be available and how much will it cost? Of course, in its current stage of development, those are questions that can be answered yet.

Rishi remarks that despite that, they would not want Project Ghost to be out of reach of most companies by pricing it too high.

He adds: “The pricing range wouldn’t be much higher than the cost of the Rally medium sized room solution, which includes a Rally conference cam, Tap touch controller and a meeting room computer (the combined solution retails for about $4,000) plus the cost of the Steelcase furniture.”

That may disappoint some, but the spokesperson was quick to clarify that the project is still a concept and will be on show throughout the year and in a variety of locations, some of which are yet to be confirmed.

A large demo event took place in New York City in April with further demos available by contacting the Project Ghost team (particularly if you’re planning a trip to the US). It is expected that the solution will be shown at major AV tradeshows throughout this year as well as at a few Steelcase showrooms around the world.

The evolution of the hybrid workforce will undoubtedly continue to grow, with remote work opportunities and services like Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Webex leading the way.

With hardware like Project Ghost, should it come to fruition, complementing the virtual work life, employers can offer continued better work-life balance to employees while bridging the disconnect of the online world.