Google Beam is being deployed at 20 USO locations

This is the company's impressive 3D video conferencing tech.

Google just announced that its Beam 3D video conferencing tech is being deployed at 20 United Service Organizations (USO) locations throughout the world. This is something we knew was coming, but it's good to see that active military members will now be able to use the tech to communicate with family members.

This follows a successful pilot program that connected a Beam system in Fort Bliss, Texas to another in Poland. The company has released a promotional video of soldiers using the platform. 

Google Beam, which used to be called Project Starline, is a unique technology that combines six cameras, AI-assisted video models and a specialized light display to project people as lifelike 3D holograms in real time. Head tracking and spatial audio also contribute to the illusion.

We actually got a chance to try this out several years ago and came away impressed. The person we talked to seemed life-sized and the whole thing felt like "we were making eye contact and holding each other's gaze." The 3D aspect also felt realistic, especially when the person we were chatting with held an apple in the frame.

We don't know if this USO program indicates an imminent broader rollout for the technology. We'll have to wait and see.