Sony Have Unveiled A Futuristic Prototype Car

It seems like nowadays, anyone can be a carmaker. Just ask Sony, most famous for its electronics such as televisions, PlayStations, music players, cameras and earphones. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, which just recently concluded, the electronics giant unveiled a car.

Dubbed the Vision-S, it is an electric concept car focused on “safety, entertainment, and adaptability,” incorporates Sony’s automotive-focused imaging technology, and is surrounded by an array of 33 different sensors Sony is calling the “Safety Cocoon,” which provides the Vision-S with a 360-degree view of its environment and any potential hazards. It’s also powered by a “newly-designed EV platform” that Sony says will be able to power other vehicle types, like SUVs.

“This prototype embodies our contribution to the future of mobility,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said.

The car’s unveiling falls in line with former Sony chairman Kaz Hirai’s final announcement at last year’s CES, when he declared that the company would be “taking a leadership position” when it came to providing sensor technology to the automotive industry. To achieve this goal, Sony has partnered up with industry leaders to build the Vision-S prototype for the CES 2020, with partners including Bosch, Continental, Genetex, Nvidia, and Magna.

“It’s built around our core technologies, or at least the parts that we are focused on, which are safety, security, and entertainment. The reason we designed the car was, from Ken’s view, to understand from scratch what the engineering feats are, so that we can provide what we do best when it comes to trends in automobiles, autonomous or otherwise.” Sony Electronics President Mike Fasulo explained.

This car is a bit of a surprise, but overall it fits Sony’s current strategy, which is to build and sell key technologies as a supplier. Sony’s successful image sensor division has seemed to also be making inroads into technologies similar to self-driving, including LIDAR and Time-of-Flight cameras. Sony camera sensors are found in many leading smartphones, including the latest iPhone Pro. So it’s no surprise that the Vision-S car is a way to help Sony showcase and sell more technological components.

There are still a lot of questions regarding the Vision-S, but in the years to come, expect Sony to continue delivering more surprises to us in the automotive industry. Our biggest question is, will we be able to play the Vision-S in Gran Turismo on the PlayStation 5?