Emerge partners with Sony Electronics to bring touch platform to smart TVs

Emerge has partnered with Sony Electronics to bring touch feedback and other sensory experiences to smart TVs.

Los Angeles-based Emerge focuses on changing communication through multi-sensory experiences and it is collaborating with Sony Electronics to integrate Emerge’s communication platform with Sony’s smart TVs.

The goal is to expand the possibilities of emotional connection through displays of the present and the future. You can imagine, for instance, doing a TV call with someone and shaking their hand virtually and feeling a sense of touch.

Emerge’s multi-sensory communication platform

But it’s more than just touch. Emerge is developing a multi-sensory communication platform that encompasses touch, sight, sound, and brain activity, all powered by Emotion AI.

Their flagship product, Emerge Wave-1, was launched in beta during 2022, enabling users to connect across distances using virtual reality (VR) headsets and intuitive hand-to-hand tactile interactions through precise ultrasonic force fields. Through this partnership, Emerge aims to extend its platform beyond VR and AR headsets to Sony SmartTVs, transforming the way viewers interact with digital content and each other.

Enhancing the user experience

With the increasing adoption of internet-enabled TVs, reaching 87% of the U.S. population, Sony’s Android TV compatible devices provide an ideal platform to feature and promote the Emerge Platform, Emerge said.

The integration of Emerge’s technology with Sony TVs opens up new modes of interaction and engagement, allowing users to have a more immersive experience. This partnership will shape the future of communication and home entertainment, enabling users to have shared tactile experiences and connect emotionally with loved ones, even when physically apart.

“Imagine having a video call with your kids or grandkids living in another city, and being able to give them a virtual high five or throw a virtual ball back and forth,” said Nick Colsey, vice president of Sony Electronics, in a statement. “Adding a tactile layer to virtual communication can not only help us feel closer across distance but also open new possibilities for shared experiences from afar.”

The power of Emotion AI

Emerge’s integration of Emotion AI with their multi-sensory communication platform takes advantage of AI’s ability to strengthen connections across distances. In the near future, Emerge plans to enable users to digitize and transmit their emotions in real-time, setting a new standard for personal connection. With a growing number of people feeling disconnected from others, Emerge aims to combat the loneliness epidemic by centering their communication platform around emotional connection.

Isaac Castro, co-CEO at Emerge, said in a statement, “A few years from now, we’ll look back at our current digital interactions the same way we see our carbon emissions today. With 33% of the world population feeling disconnected from others, this loneliness epidemic is already one of the greatest life threats of our time. It’s time for a communication platform centered around what truly matters—our emotional connection with others.”

Beta testing and future availability

Emerge’s flagship experience currently supports Meta Quest 2, a popular VR headset from Meta. Interested users can join the waitlist at www.emerge.io to become beta testers and experience the transformative capabilities of Emerge’s multi-sensory communication platform. With Sony, the company hopes to reach a broader audience and change how we interact via displays.

“In partnering with Sony, we align ourselves with a brand whose purpose is to fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology,” said Sly Spencer-Lee, co-CEO at Emerge, in a statement. “What better way to do so than pursuing to transcend the limitations of current communication technologies, soon leveraging the 1.3 billion smart TVs in homes worldwide.”