Sony surprised the CES floor when they unveiled the Sony Vision-S Electric Concept car, a smart car that looks like it came straight from the future. The Japanese giant shows off their might not just in the console, smartphones, and televisions, but apparently in the automobile world too. Sony plans to move the driverless car tech with its own hands and wheels instead of just partnering with other manufacturers.
Sony Vision-S Concept Car
The Sony Vision-S is an electric concept car that looks and feels like it came straight from the future. The zero-emission electric sedan isn't just smart, and it's downright futuristic. Sporting at least 33 sensors inside the car and outside the car, to detect objects on the road as well as the passengers inside. Its smart features were developed alongside industry leaders like Nvidia, Continental, Bosch, ZF, and Qualcomm. Its multiple displays offering a myriad of advanced driver-assistance systems and entertainment options together with its immersive 360 audio built right into the seats guarantee comfort for every passenger.
Vision-S Smart Sensors and Entertainment Systems is Straight From the Future
Powered by Sony's own Artificial Intelligence, the Vision-S will be using its internal Time-of-Flight sensor for monitoring the driver and passengers. Its distance measurement technology will measure the condition of people and objects inside the vehicle using the data to adjust the temperature for comfort and safety. External sensors such as CMOS image sensors will be used for high definition data for accurate object recognition, and Solid-State LiDAR will be used for a precise 3D grasp of real-life spaces.
Its media system includes the panoramic-wide display that covers the dashboard, a display for each rear seat on the back of the front seat's headrest, as well as individual speakers embedded in each headrest. Its media suite will allow each passenger to play their own media or share the same media with everyone else for simultaneous watching.
Of Course, It's No Slouch as a Car Either
Of course, before anything else, it's a vehicle first and foremost, and the Sony Vision-S is no slouch. The Vision-S will be an all-wheel-drive with a pair of 200-kilowatt electric motors able to accelerate to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. Its top speed caps out at 149 mph (240 km/h) beating out the Tesla Model X's top speed of 130 mph (210 km/h)
The car was co-developed with automotive supplier Magna Steyr, also known for the Toyota Supra, BMW Z4, Mercedes G-Class. Magna Steyr's new EV system developed for the concept car will also be usable for other vehicles such as SUVs.
There's so much to unpack in the short amount of time that Sony spent discussing the Vision-S at CES, and we're all left with one question. Will Sony or Magna Steyr ever put the Vision-S into production, or at least use the concepts in other models any time soon? We sure hope they do it soon, lest Sony falls behind as other manufacturers are already bringing driverless cars to the public.
