In one of the most creative uses of projection in the history of the industry the Sony Mobile Phone Group comes something they are calling Xperia Touch — a projector with an embedded Android projector. Xperia Touch is an interactive projector that turns any flat surface into a 23” HD touchscreen, with either horizontal or vertical ultrashort-throw projection. The interface is fast and responsive to physical touch – it’s built using Sony’s SXRD projection display technology, and touch is made possible through a combination of Infrared light and real-time detection via its built-in camera, at a rate of 60 frames-per-second.
This hit the jackpot for creativity.
The projector itself is a WXGA (1366×768) resolution 3LCD using a laser as a light source. Spec’d at a 4000:1 contrast ratio and embedded with a 13 megapixel camera, the Xperia Touch is only 100 lumens but the projection distance is so short that it looks brighter on a surface like a table. Input is USB-C (with an HDMI adapter) and it uses Miracast as well as NFC for wireless connectivity. Touch Control uses an IR sensor and camera and it is 10 point multi-touch.
This is a big deal, in case you haven’t noticed.