Hybrid work is here to stay, but the "meeting equity" gap is wider than ever. Hybrid meetings can quickly become a frustrating experience for remote participants if the technology makes communication difficult. When remote employees feel like "flies on the wall" rather than active participants, engagement drops and productivity suffers.

To fix this, you need technology designed specifically for the nuances of hybrid collaboration—technology that treats every participant as if they are in the same room.

What is the Meeting Owl?

The Meeting Owl is the heartbeat of your hybrid office—a compact yet powerful video conferencing device that ensures no one on your team feels like an outsider.

By tucking a 360-degree camera, rich speakers, and smart microphones all into one dynamic design, it bridges the distance between home and the office. It’s built to make your digital interactions feel less like a "call" and more like a natural, effortless conversation that flows smoothly and productively.

The Meeting Owl’s 360-degree camera connects remote team members with on-site employees, delivering a dynamic, immersive experience that lets technology work hassle-free and allows your team to have effortless, natural conversations.

The evolution of the Meeting Owl

The Meeting Owl was created in 2014 when Mark Schnittman, a former iRobot engineer, experienced firsthand the challenges of remote meetings. He found that traditional video conferencing setups were often awkward, noisy, and ineffective. Inspired to find a solution, Schnittman partnered with his former iRobot colleague, Max Makeev, to create a video conferencing device that would make remote collaboration more natural and engaging.

After many months of development, the first Meeting Owl was launched in 2016. The device quickly gained popularity for its innovative features, including a 360-degree panoramic camera that automatically focuses on the speaker, a built-in microphone array that captures sound from all directions, and a noise-canceling speaker that ensures clear audio.

The Meeting Owl has evolved over the years with the release of the Meeting Owl Pro in 2019, followed by the Meeting Owl 3 in 2022 and the Meeting Owl 4+ in 2024. The current flagship model, the Meeting Owl 5 Pro, was released in 2026 and features a high-resolution camera with 4K ultra HD video capability, improved audio quality, and support for artificial intelligence (AI) features that further enhance the meeting experience.

Meeting Owl use cases: Solving real-world hybrid challenges

Whether you’re huddled around a whiteboard or spaced out in a formal boardroom, the Meeting Owl adapts to your environment to ensure every voice carries the same weight.

The huddle space/small meeting room

• The problem: In tight quarters, a standard laptop or front-of-room camera often creates a "tunnel vision" effect. People sitting closest to the screen are cut off, and the group ends up uncomfortably crowded together just to stay in the frame.

• The solution:  The Meeting Owl’s center-of-the-table placement is a game-changer for small spaces. By capturing the room from the middle, it ensures that even in a cramped huddle, every participant is equally visible without anyone needing to "scoot in."

The large boardroom meeting

• The problem: In long rooms, a single camera makes people at the far end look like tiny dots, often resulting in muffled, "echo-chamber" audio.

• The solution: Pair two Meeting Owl units together to extend your reach. This creates a unified front that captures everyone in 4K clarity, regardless of where they sit, ensuring that the person at the head of the table is just as visible as the person at the foot.
  

Measurable benefits of the Meeting Owl: Enhanced meeting efficiency

Investing in the right hardware isn't just about "better video"—it's about saving time and mental energy.

• Instant audio clarity: With an 18-foot (5.5m) pickup radius and 8 omnidirectional microphones, there is no more "Can you repeat that?" or leaning into the center of the table.

• Zero-lag setup: As a plug-and-play USB device, the Meeting Owl eliminates the "first 10 minutes of technical difficulties" typical of complex AV setups.

• Seamless software integration: Works out-of-the-box with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Slack.
  
  

Top features of the Meeting Owl

1. 360-degree camera

Using a traditional webcam means you can only capture a small portion of your conference room at a time. Adjusting the webcam position as different team members speak is extremely disruptive and impractical.

The Meeting Owl 5 Pro camera features a 360° lens with 4K UHD resolution that captures a panoramic view of your meeting room. This creates a more immersive experience, and remote team members can see all the employees present during the meeting.

2. Eight omnidirectional microphones

The Meeting Owl includes eight built-in omnidirectional mics. Using eight different microphones provides audio coverage for an entire conference room. These microphones can capture high-quality audio regardless of where a team member is, as long as they are within 18 feet of the camera.

This feature was designed with traditional conference rooms in mind since attendees usually sit around a table. It ensures that remote team members don't miss anything said during the meeting due to poor audio quality.

3. Speakers

The two 360-degree speakers allow you to clearly hear what remote team members are saying, regardless of where you are sitting in the conference room. Remote team members will be more likely to participate during meetings if they don't have to worry about technology getting in the way of their message being heard.

Combining the 360-degree speakers with the eight omnidirectional microphones provides a seamless experience when conversations occur between remote and on-site team members. The speakers also include an echo cancellation feature.

An echo is often caused by a team member's microphone picking up sound from their speaker, making them difficult to hear. The Meeting Owl's echo cancellation feature makes it easy to hear team members regardless of the equipment they are using.

4. Meeting Owl Modes

The Owl Intelligence System (OIS) uses vision and voice recognition to focus on the active speaker. The Meeting Owl’s OIS comes with five different modes so you can personalize your meeting experience:

• Auto Focus: Auto Focus Mode provides remote participants with a face-to-face view of active speakers, facilitating a more engaging and natural discussion where everyone can participate.

• Grid: True to its name, Grid Mode creates a grid of in-room meeting participants, providing remote attendees with a face-to-face view of each person in the room, whether they are speaking or not.

• Speaker: Speaker Mode is ideal when there is one primary speaker that the Meeting Owl can follow, such as someone giving a presentation or a teacher or professor in a lecture setting.

• Panorama: Panorama Mode gives a full view of everyone seated around the Owl and is ideal for letting remote participants see all the action in one frame, so they don’t miss a thing.

• Manual: Manual Mode is helpful when there is a more formal, static presentation, such as a speaker standing at a podium or a group presenting a project at the front of the room.
  
  

5. Wirelessly pair devices

For larger rooms, the Meeting Owl can pair with additional Owl Labs products to cover more ground. The newly launched Meeting Owl 5 Pro can also support weird pairing.

6. Easy-to-use

When connected to Wi-Fi, the Meeting Owl will automatically download updates. However, it doesn't need to be connected to a wireless network to work. You can simply plug the Meeting Owl into a computer via a USB cable. You can use this smart camera with several video conferencing software solutions, including Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more.

Meeting Owl FAQs

Q: What video conferencing software does it work with? Nearly all web-based platforms, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex.

Q: How much does the Meeting Owl 5 Pro cost? The Meeting Owl 5 Pro is $2,599.

Q: Where can I purchase the Meeting Owl 5 Pro? You can purchase the Meeting Owl through the Owl Labs website, Amazon, or your local reseller.

Q: Where can I see a demo of the Meeting Owl? Owl Labs hosts weekly live demos that include the Meeting Owl 5 Pro, Meeting Owl 4+, Whiteboard Owl, and Owl Bar.

Q: Where can I follow news about Owl Labs products and the Meeting Owl? You can follow Owl Labs on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Owl Labs Blog.