Visit SWTL
Admission to the Lab is FREE!
Contact Us: (212) 833-8100
Relay Operator: (800) 421-1220
Exhibits
For a more detailed layout of the Lab, view our map.
Entrance / Lobby
Get an introduction to the Lab through a three-dimensional rendering of the space displayed on six OLED screens in the lobby. Get a "sneak peak" of what's to come in your Sony Wonder Technology Lab experience, as well as a FeliCa card to serve as your passport to the Lab, which will activate the exhibits to follow.
Sensi-Tile
Step out of the elevator on the fourth floor and prepare to begin your Sony Wonder Technology Lab experience! You'll encounter a “sensi-tile” wall made of special material that – when combined with a lighting effect – creates unique reflections in response to your touch. Remember, your actions have an impact on the Lab and one another!
Log In
Log In to your SWTL experience by typing your first name, choosing your favorite color and music genre, taking your picture, and recording your voice. These elements will be used to create your Digital Profile and help personalize the exhibits that follow. Once you're done, watch as your digital information is transmitted into the Lab through a dynamic lighting effect.
SWTL Community Diagram
Follow your digital data stream from Log In down the ramp and see it enter a large, real-time projected 3D diagram of SWTL. Here, you can identify yourself and see where you are in relation to other visitors, all of whom are represented by their chosen Log In colors.
Internet Map
Adjacent to the SWTL Community Diagram is a large world map that simulates Internet traffic and connections, tracing the many pathways taken by an e-mail, photos, music downloads and other data as they travels digitally from one location to another. Get a sense of how the Internet connects you to the broader global community.
How Devices Work
See the inner workings of electronic devices exposed, as they appear to be floating in mid-air: a Sony Ericsson cell phone, a PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), and a Cyber-shot® digital camera. When you move to touch a device, it dissolves into a 3D x-ray image that peels open through an animation to show the internal layers. Short labels identify some of the key internal components and briefly explain what they do.
Signal Stations
Explore how real-world information is digitized, processed, transmitted and received. At each station, you can “capture” a pattern using a digital brush equipped with a scanner inside; learn about the importance of Red, Green and Blue (RGB) in digital imaging; and see how tiny blocks of color called pixels make up every digital picture. You can also enhance your Log In photo using a set of digital tools to add a variety of fashionable accessories. Then, send your updated portrait to a visitor at another signal station or to one of two large displays suspended in the Lab for all to see.
Anytime / Anywhere Timeline
This evolutionary timeline features key developments in the history of media and communications technology, focusing on how devices have gotten smaller, faster, multi-functional and more portable than ever before. See the remarkable differences in picture resolution using your Log In photo, and listen to differences in sound quality, too! A section devoted to the Future highlights how new technologies are being used to help solve global challenges and create a healthy and sustainable planet for the next generation.
Nanotechnology
Forced perspective at the end of the Anytime/Anywhere ramp leads to a large screen that introduces visitors to the nano-scale. Using an earth to green pea analogy, an engaging introductory video gives you an idea of just how small small is, before enabling you to explore current and future applications of nanotechnology in categories like fashion, medicine, transportation and the environment.
Virtual Surgery
Using haptic technology, you can “feel” what it is like to perform open heart surgery! Through a haptic controller, you'll experience the physical sensations associated with various surgical instruments and procedures while operating on a virtual patient. You can also watch a media presentation on advancements in medical imaging that are helping doctors to see inside the human body and diagnose patients more quickly and accurately than ever before.
Robot Zone
This dynamic interactive introduces you to how robots sense, think and act. Program one of six colored robots equipped with light and touch sensors to determine how they act when they encounter other robots or conditions in the Robot Zone. Or, team up with other robots to accomplish a group goal!
Animation Ramp
Explore, through illuminated display cases, the five key elements that go into creating an animated film or video game: Story, Character, Environment, Visual Effects and Final Composite.
Animation Studio
Choose one of three tracks to explore in the Animation Studio: Tricks of the Trade, Create a Character, or Design a Computer Generated (CG) World. In Tricks of the Trade, you'll learn about basic animation principles and techniques. Create a Character enables you to control a character’s look, movement and facial expressions in response to a storyline. And Design a CG World allows you to model and place various objects in a scene while experimenting with color, light and atmospherics (fog, rain, snow, etc.) to create mood and enhance storytelling.
Interactive Floor
Explore the concept of community by merging pools of colored light on the floor that follow you around and evolve as you interact with the floor’s surface and with other visitors. Developed by Snibbe Interactive Inc.
Dance Motion Capture
See your very own dance moves performed by your favorite Sony-animated characters in real time in this dynamic markerless motion capture experience. A video presentation adjacent to the interactive experience takes you behind-the-scenes to explore how traditional motion capture is used to bring realism and personality to film and video game characters. ∗Please note that a minimum height is required to interact with the Dance Motion Capture exhibit. As a result, small children may not be able to use this exhibit.
WSWL™ Production Studio
Explore the various roles associated with television production in this robust high definition (HD) television production studio. Working as a team, you'll become a Director, Cameraman, Reporter, Host, Technical Director or Field Producer to create an HD broadcast with an environmental theme.
High Definition Theater
Enjoy a short screening in top quality High Definition High Definition technology provides far greater picture resolution than standard television, so the images are sharper and remarkably clear. The High Definition Theater features stadium style seating for 73 people and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Screenings are repeated throughout the month.
History Of Interactive Games
Four ceiling monitors provide an overview of the history of interactive computer and video games, from the 1960’s to the present. To illustrate the evolution of these games, the graphics and performance change dramatically as 16-bit systems are superseded by 64-bit and 128-bit systems.
GameBuilder
Create your own computer racing game by selecting and altering different components while learning about design, spatial relations, audio and video. Select a track shape and manipulate the terrain to create mountains and valleys for your course. You can also choose the style and color of your vehicle and play the game you've just created!
Music Mixer
Put your own spin on a classic song by Grammy® Award-winning Sony Music artist, Alicia Keys, using a variety of instrument tracks in genres ranging from Hip-Hop to World. By manipulating a set of “audio blocks” on an interactive table, you'll work together to create a whole new mix, while learning about the characteristics of different instruments, effects and musical styles.
Moviemaker
Learn the key concepts of motion picture production and digital editing by experimenting with sounds and images to create your own movie trailer! Using a series of short video clips from a selection of popular Sony Pictures films, you'll put them into a sequence, add background sounds and sound effects, and score and title your piece. Then, watch your completed trailer “premiere” on screen!
Shadow Garden and Sand Interactive
This multi-sensory interactive experience, created by artists Zachary Booth Simpson and Ken Demarest, showcases how art and technology come together in a digital world. This interactive wall projection, which features cascading colored “sand,” reacts to shadows you cast as you move in front of the projection. Watch the sand accumulate based on the shapes you create with your shadows. Then, move away, and watch it fall!
Log Out
As you emerge from the Shadow Garden, a series of eight interactive, log out stations allow you to tap your FeliCa cards one last time and receive a printed color certificate listing all of the activities you've experienced during your visit.
