MATSUKO, the first creator of a software-only solution for holographic communication, will premiere its technology as a finalist in the Extended Reality & Immersive Technology category for the 14th annual SXSW Pitch® (formerly SXSW Accelerator) tomorrow. Out of the 655 companies that applied to present at SXSW Pitch 2022, MATSUKO was selected among the 50 finalists spanning 10 separate categories.

MATSUKO is the world's first real-time hologram meeting app that requires only an iPhone to capture and stream people's holograms. Its solution is not an animated avatar but a fully expressive hologram. Using mixed and augmented reality and artificial intelligence, MATSUKO creates 3D holograms for remote communication between people. This eliminates the problems often encountered on video calls, which are lack of non-verbal cues, lack of engagement, and missing spatial feeling.

"If these past two years have shown us anything, it is that as humans we need each other's presence. And even though we have come a long way with remote communication, today's tools are still way too distant," said Maria Vircikova, co-founder and CEO of MATSUKO. "Our brain is wired for the third dimension, and we need a sensation of people physically being there. I'm excited to show the judges at the SXSW Pitch how our solution provides a true holographic presence and how that can help people connect emotionally."

MATSUKO - iPhone AR - SXSW

By installing the MATSUKO app and wearing XR glasses, users experience the real presence of having colleagues and friends next to them – no avatars, no scanning, no setup. Using only the camera on their phone, people can stream their hologram in real-time to others on the call, sharing the feeling that they are all together in the same room.

Introducing this realistic holographic communication in business settings will make video conferences more effective and reduce the need for travel costs, cutting down on emissions.

Companies can use the technology for face-to-face meetings and team briefings, while event organizers can bring speakers closer to their audience. MATSUKO's app has been developed for VR and mixed reality, but the company wants to impact more people.

With that in mind, it will be launching the MATSUKO app for the iPhone experience, which means that everyone can now experience real volumetric holograms with just a smartphone. Hundreds of millions of people can now connect with millions of headset owners, all with the same MATSUKO app.

Interestingly, considering this trend, 7-Eleven Japan has just decided to run a pilot trial with contactless self-checkout kiosks with holographic displays. The holographic displays are equipped with Neonode's Touch Sensor Modules that make it possible to interact with the images projected by the holographic displays mid-air, in a similar way as you would do with a normal touch display. The Touch Sensor Modules are provided via NEXTY Electronics and Kanda Kogyo.

The fact is, that the demand for contactless shopping has surged during the coronavirus pandemic, and since the terminals give stores room for more products by taking up 30% less space than existing cash registers, we are curious about the outcome of the current trial at six 7-Eleven stores in Tokyo.

By MediaBUZZ