You might think we’re kidding when we say Sony’s new ELF-MN1 Spatial Reality Display puts an adorable anime character on your desk. You’d be entirely incorrect. That’s exactly how the Japanese company is promoting the six-inch desktop display. It’ll have other uses too, sure, but that’s what Sony is leading with.
The screen is “a spatial reproduction display that allows users to enjoy 3D images of avatars, characters, and other 3D content.” It doesn’t require glasses, using eye tracking to render depth for anyone looking at the triangular object.
Dark ELF-MN1
You don’t need to use the ELF-MN1 to stare at anime characters — even if that’s what it’s optimised for. It’ll also show all manner of 3D video content, especially that captured by Sony’s own XYN spatial capture system. Game development renders and other scenes should offer decent depth, though Sony’s own video doesn’t give us a proper idea of what it’ll look like. It’s difficult to record something that needs to see your eyes to function.
It’s not explicit, but we can easily envision something like the ELF-MN1 being repurposed as an AI avatar display. Right now, it’ll render animated models on your desk. Give it the ability to listen and answer, with the animated model moving appropriately, and it’ll more than justify (for some buyers) the roughly R5,700 (¥54,000) Sony will ask for this one when it launches in December this year.
