Steelcase and Logitech have launched ‘Ocular View’ to create more immersive and engaging conversations.
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The workplace solutions researcher and designer, Steelcase, teamed up with the hardware and software manufacturer Logitech to create an extended reality (XR) experience that would feel like remote call participants are right in front of you.
To achieve this, Steelcase combined its hybrid collaboration insights and design work with Logitech’s video collaboration technology, simultaneously supporting software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
Christina Vernon, General Manager of Distributed Collaboration and Tech Partners for Steelcase, outlined the driving forces that brought Ocular View into being: “People need better hybrid collaboration options – especially in a time where we are spending so much of our day on video – so we wanted to create a more realistic experience that would help combat digital fatigue.
“Project Ghost was an experiment to see if people could connect virtually in the same way they might over a cup of coffee.
“What we found through all of our conversations and in-person demonstrations was that people were craving this kind of immersive and distraction-free experience to really improve their connections with their colleagues.”
‘Project Ghost’ Comes to Life
According to Steelcase, Ocular View raises the bar of personal wellbeing, social connection, and privacy in one fell swoop, which the company’s recent research found to be top priorities for employees.
Initially unveiled in its prototype form at Integrated Systems Europe in 2023 under the name ‘Project Ghost’, Ocular View was born out of an investigation into understanding the needs of workers within hybrid communications and collaboration.
Vernon explains just how long this XR project has been in the pipeline: “Working with our tech partners early on in the process gives our designers an advantage to create spaces that integrate technology seamlessly so people can focus on what’s important – the actual conversation.
“We’ve been working with Logitech for several years and this project was the clear next step in building better hybrid solutions.”
Features of Ocular View
Ocular View is set within Steelcase Everwall, or known as Orangebox Campers and Dens in Europe, which is essentially a small, partitioned space large enough to fit one or two people, thereby increasing privacy and cutting down on potential distractions.
The all-in-one hybrid collaboration experience contains a sofa, small table, and soft lighting.
Ocular View’s camera is placed at eye-level, which connects call participant sight lines and foster a more natural gaze to raise in-person engagement.
‘Organically shaped’ tables are also featured within the Steelcase Ocular Collection portfolio to improve these sight lines and bolster meeting equity.
Alex Mooney, Alliances and Go-To-Market Manager for Logitech, gave its perspective of the product partnership: “When starting on this project, we asked ourselves how we could create a more human connection where technology fades into the background and people are front-and-centre.
“By working with Steelcase so closely, we’re able to let everyone now experience Ocular View which removes the obvious presence of technology to focus on the engagement between two people. It’s an experience that’s unlike anything available until now.”
Ocular View is currently available in North America and some European countries. Everwall configurations are due to become available in Summer 2024, with the Orangebox version availability scheduled for Europe in the summer of 2024 and North American markets around autumn and winter of 2024.
