Sony Launches New Touchscreen Projector

Sony stole the limelight at this year’s SXSW convention. The global tech company actually converted one of the warehouses in Austin, Texas into a “Wow Factory” where workers from its Future Lab project displayed some of the company’s latest gadgets. Among the gadgets on display was a projector. This wasn’t just any ordinary projector, however; it was a touchscreen projector capable of projecting touchscreen interfaces on any flat surface.

If you’re familiar with SXSW, you may recall Sony unveiling a similar touchscreen projector last year. Well, this is actually the same product, though Sony has refined the technology to make it more usable. So, how does Sony’s new touchscreen projector work?

Here’s a scenario to consider: think of yourself watching a movie on TV, and then pausing the movie to drag one of the characters from the screen to the wall, simply by using your finger. Sony displayed the technology in a demo, showing blocks of wood being transformed into a model home while using the projector.

The touchscreen projector is placed above a tabletop, at which point it projects the flat surface into a fully interactive touch-sensing display. The interface is capable of tracking hand movements, object movements, and even depth sensing (it can sense how deep you touch). Furthermore, Sony’s touchscreen projector can tell when your hand is obstructing its view, which is uses to determine the location of touches.

There’s still no word on when exactly Sony will release its new touchscreen projector. However, reports indicate that Sony is making not one but two projectors. One of the touchscreen projectors is a prototype, while the other one is preparing to be released. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that we’ll see Sony’s new touchscreen projector available for sale in the near future.

The other projector that Sony is preparing to release is the Xperia Touch. This projector was a newcomer to SXSW, and it features entirely different hardware than its counterpart. However, both projectors use the same type of responsive projector technology. The Xperia Touch is a smaller version with a box-like design that sits on an angled surface, projecting the touchscreen interface upwards. It’s also capable of creating musical instruments such as pianos on any flat surface, allowing users to express their musical creativity anywhere they please.