Event information

Park Lab EXPT.07
Does catch cross
the boundaries of play?

Sony Park Mini, an experimental pop-up space of around 30 m² for the New Ginza Sony Park scheduled to be completed in 2024, opened Park Lab as a series program.

Sony’s engineers and creators are constantly seeking ways that technology and creativity can contribute to create experiences that move people’s hearts. Park Lab is a program intended to offer a peek into the future discovered within everyday life by Sony. It is an experimental space designed to encourage people to see things in daily life from slightly different perspectives.

In Park Lab EXPT.07, scheduled to be held from Tuesday, July 11 to Tuesday, July 25, we will connect Sony Park Mini, located below ground level at the Ginza Sukiyabashi crossing, and Sony Store Ginza, located more than 200 meters away at the Ginza 4-chome crossing, to experiment with a new type of play called "XR Catch." It is an experiment that fuses the real and virtual to enable a game of catch to be played with a virtual ball by relying on sound. XR Catch was developed using Sony’s video, audio, and sensing technologies and MUSVI Corporation's "MADO" telepresence system.

The idea for XR Catch came from Teruhiro Nakagawa at a workshop held by Creative Center for an inclusive design project. Nakagawa gradually lost sight from around the time he was in high school. Recalling the time he was able to play catch, he spoke about how he "wished that he would be able to casually play catch with his son," and this got the ball rolling.
Through this experiment, we will consider how to create a society in which everyone can participate and play more freely.

Comments from
the design team:

In designing XR Catch, we engaged diverse people as we played together with prototypes and asked for feedback. We invite you to experience this play space where you can freely exchange ideas and mental images while enjoying a play of catch, such as tips on how to throw or catch the virtual ball, and how you can feel the ball flying back and forth.

Tambata, Design Producer

The smartphone holder used for XR Catch was designed by making repeated improvements to incorporate feedback from a wide range of people, from kindergarteners to seniors. It is designed to fit comfortably in hands of any size, so anyone can play with it regardless of age or gender.

Karasawa, Designer

Be sure to experience this peek into the future, a trend born at Sony that may just about be a step toward the future, with Sony Park Mini's new Park Lab series program.