• Question: What will video calling look like in 30 years

    Asked by anon-74607 to Stephen on 19 May 2020.
    • Photo: Stephen Jeapes

      Stephen Jeapes answered on 19 May 2020:

      Great question. We’re starting to see a lot of focus on video calling due to the current situation

      30 years is long, long time in technology. Thinking back to 30 years ago even video calling seemed a long way off (particularly since most people had never even been on the internet at that point).

      There will be a lot of focus on making it much more like being there rather than just calling somewhere. Perhaps 3D holograms will become a thing, or maybe virtual reality will get to the point where it’s unobtrusive enough that everyone will use it. Maybe it will interface directly with your brain. It’s hard to say.

      I’d expect much clearer video and audio even in the next 5 years. 5G connectivity might mean that video calling is something you can do anywhere rather than needing to be at home in-front of a computer. I’d assume at some point camera technology will get to the point of capturing more depth and re-constructing a true 3D scene.

      There’s likely to be a lot more artificial intelligence/machine learning doing things like removing backgrounds (like Microsoft/Zoom does) but in a much less obvious way. There’s already AI working in noise reduction/clearer audio. AI will take a much more significant role over the next few years.

Comments

  • Photo: Fidel

    Fidel commented on :

    With so many advancements in technology happening, video calling in the future will definitely be more advanced. There are many companies that are researching augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and extended reality. If you think back to many years ago, there was no such thing as video calling, just normal phone calls. Video calling was introduced to make the interactions between people more realistic. In the same way, I believe video calling in the next 30 years will become even more enhanced with the use of virtual reality where the people using it will not even feel like they’re apart but rather as if they’re in the same room. It’ll be really amazing.

  • Photo: Doogie

    Doogie commented on :

    There will almost certainly be VR or augmented reality. Glassless 3D imagery will no doubt be commonplace. I am sat in front of a laptop right now, and imagine we will have gone way beyond that technology, and that as Fidel states, I would hope to be sat at my desk (virtually) opposite the person I am speaking to.