'Room' Offers a Non-Facebook Way to Connect Coworkers in the Metaverse
Now that virtual meetings are firmly cemented in workplace culture, technology companies aren't stopping at Zoom and Google Meet.
New products are already reimaging the typical video-conferencing interface where each participant occupies their own square in a grid. Room, a new product created by Cevat Yerli, the former CEO of video game developer Crytek, is one of them.
"Due to the recent and rapid virtualization of corporate interactions, we have pushed ourselves into these two-dimensional, flat spaces," Yerli in a statement(Opens in a new window).
"Room has been designed to encourage people to interact in inspiring 3D virtual meetings, and ultimately support and enhance unique cultural norms. Not as a replacement for the real thing – but as the second-best option.”
Room places participants in three dimensional surroundings using a regular computer camera (no VR headset required). The experience leverages a patented gaming simulation technology called RealityOS(Opens in a new window), which superimposes the camera's live feed on 3D "rooms."
There are currently two subscription types for Room: the Basic Plan and Founder Plan—and the company plans to add two more advanced Pro and Enterprise Plans.
The basic plan is free, and it offers three rooms in which you can have meetings for up to 60 minutes with four people (three plus a host). The Founder Plan costs $6/month, allows you to choose between 17 rooms where 17 people can gather for as long as 24 hours. You could even have a virtual sleepover.
The beta(Opens in a new window) experience of the Basic Plan is available now. Users can invite friends and coworkers to meet around a conference room, a fireplace, or a broadcast studio.
We tried the beta here at PCMag. We
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