Frequently asked questions
What people ask most before their first session.
What Noro is
What is Noro?
Noro is the infrastructure layer for distributed organizations, the physical room that makes presence possible across locations. Our flagship product is the Noro Portal: a purpose-built room with a floor-to-ceiling LED display and cameras embedded inside the screen. Walk in and the connected office is there, life-size, in real time. Microsoft Teams and Zoom run on top of it so your team does not change their preferred platforms. What changes is what that communication can feel like - more human, dynamic and connected.
Who is this built for?
Noro is built for teams distributed across locations. Travel becomes a blocker to effective work, and we allow their workspaces to be connected despite distance, so that they can do their best work together.
Is this a video conferencing upgrade?
No. This is a different category entirely. Video conferencing is a communication layer. Noro is the physical infrastructure beneath it, the room that gives communication the weight of shared presence. A Noro Portal puts your people in the same room. The difference is physical and psychological, and it is most legible in person, which is why we offer sessions before any commitment.
Can we schedule it, or is it always available?
Both. Portals can be booked like any conference room, for specific meetings, recurring blocks, or one-off meetings. They can also run as a persistent ambient connection between two offices, where teams drop in throughout the day as naturally as walking next door.
How does Noro relate to AI tools?
As an infrastructure layer, we can integrate other tools into your Noro room. We employ AI systems that leverage the knowledge and interactions occurring within the workspace to enhance team productivity. Intelligence becomes embedded into the environment itself, helping teams discover information, automate routine tasks, surface insights, accelerate decision-making, and preserve institutional
How is Noro related to Shared Studios?
Shared Studios is the parent company, founded in 2014 originally as an art project. Noro is the enterprise product built from over a decade of Shared Studios experience connecting people life-size across cities, universities, and cultural institutions. Shared Studios continues to operate portals for education and cultural programming. Noro is the dedicated enterprise offering.
How it works
What does the experience actually feel like?
The honest answer: you feel actual social presence. You walk into the room and the other office is there. The scale is right. The eye contact is real. After a few minutes, most people stop thinking about the technology and start thinking about the conversation. That is the goal, and it is why we ask people to visit a demo room rather than watch a product video.
How does the eye contact work?
Cameras are embedded inside the LED display at eye-line height. When you look at someone across the portal, you are looking directly at the camera, so they see you looking back. Research shows a 30% increase in interpersonal trust from sustained, calibrated eye contact compared to side-mounted configurations.
Can people move around?
Yes. People can pace, gesture, and walk to the whiteboard. The camera system accommodates full motion. Free movement is one of the reasons Noro sessions feel different from video calls, and why the +60% creativity finding from Stanford holds up in practice.
What collaborative tools are included?
Whiteboarding, screen sharing, phone casting, and media display tools are built in. We also have a layer of AI intelligence to produce live captions and a meeting helper. As an infrastructure layer we can integrate other collaborative tools into the platform as your teams require.
Does both offices need a Noro Room?
No. One office can have the Noro Room installation while the other joins via a standard video connection on Teams, Google Meet, or Zoom. Our system intelligently sizes the displayed participants to scale, but it does not have the level of immersive presence as if 2 Noro Rooms were connected.
Can we connect more than two offices?
Yes. Noro supports multi-location networks, currently up to 3 Noro Rooms at a time. We are working on camera stitching technology to add a 4th Noro Room.
What shows on the screen when no session is running?
Digital art, organizational content, or custom ambient media. The room earns its footprint around the clock, not only during scheduled sessions.
Your existing tools
Does it work with Microsoft Teams & Zoom?
Yes, we're fully integrated with both. Start your meeting through our controller as you would normally and the Noro Rooms connect with the same immersive experience, without ever leaving your preferred videoconferencing platform.
Does it work with our existing calendar system?
Yes. Noro integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and most major calendar tools. Booking a portal session works exactly like scheduling any other meeting.
Does it work with Google Meet?
Currently it does not, as Google Meet does not offer open APIs.
Does Noro replace our video conferencing setup?
No. Noro works alongside your existing tools. Your teams keep using Teams, or Zoom with the same immersive experience as using our own videoconferencing platform.
Can people join from outside the portal room?
Yes. Any external participants can join any session via a shared link. Up to 4 participants will visible on the top of the Noro Portal, and the remaining will have their names displayed in the sidebar.
Room requirements and installation
What room size is required?
Minimum footprint: 14 feet wide by 14 feet deep. Our teams can help you identify the best room for your specific team's needs.
Does installation require construction or wall work?
No. The Noro Portal is a standalone frame — no wall modification or structural work needed.
How long does installation take?
Installation takes 2 days, carried out by a Noro-certified AV integrator. We then require a few days for testing and calibration of your specific rooms and audio environments.
Who handles the installation?
Your AV integrators handle all physical installation, or we can recommend a Noro-certified AV Integrator. Your IT team's involvement is needed for network configuration: confirming the wired connection, whitelisting required domains, and completing any internal security review.
Security, privacy, and network
Is anything recorded or stored?
No. Zero data storage. Sessions are not recorded or retained on any Noro server. All transmission is encrypted end-to-end. No biometric data, session content, or video is retained anywhere, unless specifically requested by the client.
Who can see into a Noro Room?
No one, unless the Noro Portal is actively connected. Connection requires deliberate activation on both sides. There is no passive feed, no open camera, and no ambient monitoring.
What are the network requirements?
An ethernet connection is required, 20 Mbps up and 20 Mbps down. WiFi is not supported, as packet loss degrades the experience. The system uses UDP for low latency.
What is the hardware?
A 1.2-pitch LED wall, 144 inches diagonal — 10 feet wide by 6.7 feet tall — with cameras embedded inside the display. The compute unit is a Windows-based industrial PC integrated into the frame, no external rack required. Audio and companion screens are managed in coordination with your AV Integrator.
Can our IT team review the security specifications?
Yes. Full documentation is available on request: network architecture, data handling policy, encryption specifications, whitelisting requirements, and TAA compliance materials for regulated industries.
Still have questions?
Thank you. We'll be in touch.
We usually respond within one business day.