HP Halo is a unique teleconferencing environment that looks, sounds, and feels as if colleagues across the world are just across the table. Early versions of Halo had required a dedicated room, but in 2007, frog and HP teamed up to create a model that could be constructed within an existing office space, making it easier for companies to build, maintain, and move their communications system.
The illustrators at DreamWorks Animation work collaboratively, fine-tuning their animations and reviewing one another’s work as they go. It’s a process that has always worked best in person, when colleagues can see both the sketches and each other. But with an increasingly global team, the company realized that continued collaboration meant either flying employees around the world – or coming up with a better way.
They approached HP, which subsequently released the Halo Collaboration Studio, a unique teleconferencing environment that looks, sounds, and feels as if colleagues across the world are just across the table. Participants see each other on life-size high-resolution displays and can communicate without perceived delay, regardless of how far apart the teams may be.
In the past, Halo required a dedicated conference room, but in 2007, frog and HP teamed up to create a model that could be constructed anywhere there was space inside an office, making it easier for companies to build, maintain, and move the system.
So much of human communication comes from the facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language that accompany our words. frog examined every detail of the Halo system with that full range of expression in mind before refining form, material, and technology to help business associates communicate as naturally – and effectively – as possible. A modular system was created to accommodate diverse work spaces without sacrificing reliable and intimate interaction. In the system, the front wall acts as both receiver and display. Using embedded cameras, it captures streaming video of those present while at the same time displaying remote colleagues across three high-definition screens. frog also fine-tuned camera and speaker placement so that each participant’s voice can be heard directionally from his or her placement on screen and each colleagues’ response can be observed at eye level. To provide a consistent visual backdrop and give users the sense of a unified space, the back wall was optimized for lighting, acoustics, and on-camera appearance. A neutral housing of wood, fabric, and metal keeps the audio-visual mechanics hidden and the business at hand front and central.
A fourth screen above the participants’ gallery displays meeting collateral from PowerPoint presentations to prototypes while a camera mounted in the ceiling can be used to capture a top-down view of physical models or notes – bringing not only the communication, but the work itself into full view.
The team worked carefully to calibrate the cameras to the specific dimensions of the Halo conference table, ensuring flawless image capture. The table features built-in high-sensitivity microphones, subtle storage areas, and integrated management of the interface cable, mouse, and wiring to keep the workspace clear and help maintain seamless network connections while using the Halo system.
This virtual meeting experience fosters strong business relationships while improving communications and reducing the time, stress, and environmental impact of business travel. Michael Miller of PC Magazine calls Halo, “One of the most impressive technology demonstrations I've ever seen.” It received the Red Dot Award for Industrial Design and was named a finalist in the 2008 IDEA Awards. But the best measure of Halo’s success is what people call "a Halo moment." Someone in New York asks to borrow a pen; a colleague in China offers one forward before remembering the distance between them. When the Halo illusion breaks, there is laughter, then the realization that good design can truly remove barriers to social interaction.
