Sony is preparing to release a projection device that will turn any flat surface into a touchscreen interface. Up until recently, most touchscreen interfaces have relied on either resistive or capacitive touch-sensing technology. Resistive devices identify touch using pressure, as two layers press together upon contact. Capacitive devices, on the other hand, identify touch by measuring changes in capacitance. Touching the interface creates a disturbance in the device’s uniform electrical field; thus, allowing capacitive devices to determine when and where a touch occurred.
However, there are other, lesser known types of touchscreen technology, including the projector type being released by Sony. As explained by Ars Technica, the Xperia Touch is a new touchscreen device that’s being released by Sony. With a price tag of $1,699, it costs a bit more than your average Android handset or tablet. Of course, the Xperia Touch isn’t just another ordinary touchscreen device. It uses special hardware and software to project a touchscreen interface onto any flat surface.
The Xperia Touch runs the Android interface, which it can project onto a wall, desk, table or virtually any other flat surface. This opens the doors to a whole new world of possibilities. Instead of being limited to small displays, the Xperia Touch can create massive displays measuring up to 80 inches.
So, what’s powering the Xperia Touch? The device is said to feature a built-in multitouch lens, a 60 frames-per-second (FPS) camera, and an infrared light array, the latter of which plays a key role in its functionality. The Xperia Touch is essentially an infrared (IR) touchscreen device. It works by projecting the display onto a surface. When someone touches the display, it interrupts the IR light. This interruption is essentially how the Xperia Touch can identify the point of contact.
Other specs for the Xperia Touch include Android Nougat, 3GB of random access memory (RAM), 32 GB of internal storage, a gyroscope, accelerometer, Bluetooth 4.2, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, GPS and more. With that said, the Xperia Touch’s battery may fall short, as it only offers one hour of continuous usage before needed to be recharged.
In terms of size, the Xperia Touch is quite small, measuring just 5.3 inches tall, 2.7 inches wide and 5.6 inches deep. Don’t let that fool you into thinking it produces a small interface, though. On the contrary, the Xperia Touch is capable of producing massive display interfaces measuring up to 80 inches.
