Google 3D video calling platform launches new experimental feature to allow participants with non-Beam devices to "live in person"

At the ongoing Google I/O 2026 conference, Google has brought new experimental features to its AI-driven 3D video calling platform for enterprises, Google Beam, designed to further optimize the multi-person remote meeting experience. The focus of this update is to improve the appearance and sound of participants joining meetings using ordinary devices.

Google Beam was initially announced as "Project Starline" and debuted as a formal product at last year's Google I/O. This system relies on Google's AI volumetric video model to allow participants to be presented in a three-dimensional form on the screen, and still have a real sense of spatial depth when viewed from different viewing angles. Compared with traditional video calls, Beam technology is said to be easier to make eye contact and capture subtle expressions and body language, helping to make communication more natural.

The experimental features added in this update focus on the presentation of participants from "non-Beam devices", such as users joining the meeting through a MacBook or Windows laptop. The system will render these participants in a proportion that is close to their real bodies, making them appear as if they are sitting around the conference table with others. At the same time, Beam will match each participant's video with spatial audio, binding the sound location to the character's image, thereby creating a sense of presence that "the sound comes from the person opposite."

This experimental feature is currently available for multi-person meetings hosted on HP Dimension display devices. HP Dimension is a 65-inch display focused on immersive experience. It is equipped with 7 AI cameras to capture the user's expressions and gestures, and has a built-in 12-unit beamforming microphone array and various other sensors. With these hardware, the system can more accurately restore the expressions, gestures and sound direction of participants.

It should be pointed out that ordinary device users will not directly obtain complete 3D stereoscopic rendering because non-Beam devices themselves usually lack corresponding professional hardware support. However, the new experimental feature will still automatically optimize the picture and audio of these "2D participants" to make the characters in the picture appear larger and more natural, and the sound will be closer to the real experience. When someone joins a meeting from a regular computer at home or in the office, the system automatically performs the above optimizations without requiring additional user settings.

Google said in a blog post that its research shows that such technology paths have the potential to help close the "engagement gap" in hybrid office environments. Internal data indicates that such presentations can increase users’ sense of social connection by approximately 50% and increase self-reported “ability to speak” by approximately 21%. Google believes that this can enable remote participants to no longer be marginalized in hybrid meetings and be more willing and easier to participate in discussions.

In the same keynote speech, Google also revealed that the number of users of 13 Google products has exceeded 1 billion, further highlighting its influence in the global consumer and enterprise markets. More new product and feature updates about Google I/O 2026 are also continuing to be released through official channels and media reports.