Future Lab, Sony’s US based R&D division which recently debuted a more realized concept N headphones that don’t need to go on your ear in the traditional sense to hear, is at it again with a projector that’s able to turn any ordinary tabletop into a computer out of Tony Stark’s lab. Nick Statt writing for The Verge:

The “Interactive Tabletop” concept uses depth sensors and motion tracking to know when objects are placed on the table and even bring storybooks to life.

So what are the potentials of this?

Sony programmed its prototype to recognize a copy of Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland. When the company’s representative opens the book, it springs to life with animations that can be dragged off the page and then used to interact with a nearby physical objects like a teacup or deck of playing cards. The tabletop also responds to any finger press by tracking the direction of your hand, while hovering your fingers over any portion of the surface highlights the grid of light the projector uses to monitor your movements.

It’s easy to see where the future of this technology goes as we’ve seen it in plenty of Sci-fi flicks, including Iron Man. I’m not convinced that the technology will ever turn into a consumer product but I can certainly see the potential of this in businesses like retail.

Restaurants could also have a ton of use for something with this with menus and games appearing on tables, allowing patrons to easily order food or dive deeper in nutritional information right at their table. Places like Chili’s already deploy a similar concept, albeit with tablets.

You could also see this being useful in schools and colleges where the professor can have a more interactive board but I’m doubtful no matter the cost of it that we’ll see this popping up in each students table as it’s far more practical for each student to simply have their own tablet.

As with all products from Future Labs, it’s unclear when, if ever, we’ll see them. However, don’t be surprised if everything they’re working on somehow gets incorporated into another product.

Discuss:

Where else can you imagine this tech popping up?