Forget Conference Calls. Instead, Head to WeWork's Holodeck
WeWork has picked tech provider ARHT Media to set up live holographic booths in some of its locations.
Beam me up, Scotty? Not quite, but there is something next gen about holographic facilities. Flex space company WeWork is investing in hologram technology from ARHT Media to set up live conferencing in a number of their locations.
The two companies have been talking about this since last year and in February said they would almost double the number of WeWork sites that feature the technology from 16 to 30.
“We are always looking for opportunities to introduce greater flexibility and optionality for our members, enabling them to engage with their audiences in an entirely new way—especially as more companies adopt hybrid work strategies,” WeWork tells GlobeSt.com in a statement, saying that it wants to “develop a global network [of facilities] that provide our members with an innovative and engaging way to create more meaningful experiences.
“For example, this technology can be used to enable a person to present in several different venues simultaneously. It can greatly reduce time spent traveling to/from and participating in off-site meetings, providing a solution for scheduling conflicts and travel restrictions or other challenges,” the company further says.
While not brand new, the technology also isn’t that old. One first big use was in a projected performance of the deceased Michael Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards in 2014. ARHT says that it publicly powered its first holograph presentation in 2015, though that was a live presentation of self-help guru Tony Robbins to Melbourne while he was in Miami.
ARHT has been building out a network of sites in conjunction with partners since then. The company says some of its clients include the US Department of Defense, Imperial College London, and Emory University. Some speakers appearing for engagements through the system include Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, former French prime minister François Hollande, and former US Treasury secretary Steven Munchin.
Whether this is ultimately compelling for regular use, or whether as a marketing novelty, will take time to see. Existing video technologies already allow people to make presentations in multiple locations. As the pandemic showed, conferencing systems that enable meetings through desktops, laptops, and smartphones already allow people to communicate face-to-face.
However, even if a marketing novelty, or oddity, providing access at select WeWork buildings should help support a positioning of being at the forefront of modern ways to work. Sometimes technology can provide an advantage through supporting an image.