Details of Exhibits at SXSW 2018 Sony Booth "WOW Studio"

■A(i)R Hockey
An AR hockey game that achieves real-time tracking of a fast-moving puck and mallet, with projections synchronized to the movement.
Sony's proprietary high-speed vision sensor enables real-time tracking of the fast-moving puck and mallet, while its unique predictive algorithm synchronizes projections with movement. The lack of lag or visual discrepancy in the projections astonished visitors.
Furthermore, by combining this with haptic feedback technology, visitors could experience a new sensation, as if striking a virtual puck that doesn't actually exist. The演出 that changed the tactile feedback based on the size of the puck further immersed visitors, who became increasingly engrossed in the game.


■Interactive CUBE
An experiential entertainment stage that appeals to the five senses, utilizing projector visuals, sound, light, and vibrations (haptic feedback technology) within a giant cube.
By incorporating two screens, including a transparent one, into the cube and projecting images, those inside the cube felt as if the visuals were floating in space.
Content such as "Rolling rover," which offers an extraordinary experience of rolling down a mountain, "Tunnel dance," where participants strike the same pose as flowing designated poses, and "Cherry blossoms," allowing visitors to experience being immersed in a beautiful space with falling cherry blossoms, were unveiled, much to the enjoyment of the surrounding audience.

■Interactive Tabletop Projector
A technology that creates an interactive AR space simultaneously experienceable by multiple people.
By recognizing fingers touching the table or fingers held in the air, it can create an interactive large display.
As multiple projectors are used for projection, three-dimensional projection mapping visuals appear.
When a model was placed on the table, keyboard patterns were projected onto the piano and string lines onto the double bass. Furthermore, when visitors held their fingers over the space above the table, their fingers became spotlights in four colors: pink, yellow, green, and light blue.
When the music began, the mechanism was such that as various colored balls emerged from the central mirror ball, hitting the instrument with the correctly timed spotlight of the same color caused the instrument to react and play the music.
The color of the mirror ball changed to gold, silver, or bronze depending on the completeness of the music, and visitors enjoyed watching the results.


■Ghostly Whisper
In this experiential show set in an old mansion, visitors are guided by the homeowner into a room and receive instructions on how to prepare for connecting with another world.
Afterward, in the main room, all visitors gather around a round table, where演出 using Sony's technology delivers messages from different worlds in various forms.
As the homeowner presents tarot cards to the visitors and narrates the story, Sony's unique spatial audio technology "Sonic Surf VR" delivers whispers and wind sounds only to the listener, while the sensation of being touched by something recreates paranormal phenomena, heightening the story's atmosphere.


■Superception
Under the theme of "Transcending Human Perception and Senses," in Superception, participants wear a dedicated helmet-like device called "Head Light" and walk through a small white room. The device is equipped with a compact laser projector called a "pico projector," which projects images into the space directly in front of the wearer's eyes.
This time, visitors could experience the senses of creatures such as butterflies, bats, and mosquitoes through projected visuals. For example, they could immersively view the perceptual worlds experienced by each creature as projection AR, such as the way butterflies see colors differently from humans, how bats perceive space using sound, and how mosquitoes feel airflow.

*Product names mentioned are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony and their respective companies.