The Sony Group unveiled the SUV type battery EV prototype vehicle “VISION-S 02” for the first time at “CES 2022” held in Las Vegas, USA on January 4th (local time). In the spring of 2022, it announced that it will establish a business company “Sony Mobility Co., Ltd.” and will consider launching battery EVs in earnest.
Sony VISION-S 02 2022
　The VISION-S 02 released at CES 2022 is an SUV type prototype vehicle following the “VISION-S 01” announced at CES 2020. The company plans to continue developing VISION-S with a focus on technology development, adaptability, and entertainment for safety and security.
　The newly announced VISION-S 02 uses the same EV / cloud platform as the prototype (VISION-S 01) that is developing public road driving tests, etc., and provides an entertainment experience using a large interior space and 7 Through variations of passenger rides, etc., the company plans to promote support for various lifestyles in a society where values ​​are diversifying together with VISION-S 01.
　So far, the company has started public road driving tests in Europe in December 2020 in order to demonstrate this concept for VISION-S in the real world, and the imaging sensing technology and human-machine interface installed inside and outside the vehicle ( HMI) We have begun to verify the safety of systems and user experience. Sony’s cutting-edge technology has been continuously introduced, such as starting 5G driving tests in April 2021. With the addition of the entertainment robot “aibo”, the drone “Airpeak”, and the “VISION-S” that contributes to the evolution of mobility, the company will create new value in various fields.
Three priority areas to work on in VISION-S
　In the future, VISION-S will work on three priority areas: safe and secure mobility “Safety”, “Adaptability” to get closer to people and grow together, and “Entertainment” to deepen the mobility entertainment space, and the situation is reported. Was done.
Safe and secure mobility “Safety”
　In the area of ​​Safety, recognition of the surrounding environment is achieved by sensors that are stretched around 360 degrees, such as CMOS image sensors with high sensitivity, high definition, and wide dynamic range, and LiDAR (rider) that accurately grasps the three-dimensional space in 3D. Supports safe driving by grasping in real time.
　In addition, it provides intuitive driver interaction in cooperation with the in-vehicle acoustic system and HMI system so that the situation of the surrounding environment such as the running of an emergency vehicle can be accurately judged even in the vehicle. Using Sony’s sensor technology and communication technology for the purpose of providing safety and security to all people, we are aiming for the release of ADAS (driving support function) Level 2+ on public roads in order to realize safer and more comfortable mobility. It is said that functional verification is being conducted in Europe.
“Adaptability” to get closer to people and grow together
　In the area of ​​Adaptability, the ToF distance image sensor is used to provide monitoring functions for driver authentication and watching over passengers. In addition, it supports gesture commands and voice commands with the aim of evolving into an intuitive car interface. And it will provide a function that can newly set the display theme and acceleration / deceleration sound of the vehicle according to the user’s preference.
Furthermore, by linking the vehicle and the cloud system using mobile communication including 5G communication, vehicle settings, key locks, and user settings can be synchronized. In addition, since the update is reflected on the vehicle by OTA (Over the air), it is possible to continuously evolve the security aspect, service function and provision of added value.
　In addition, we have positioned remote driving, which utilizes in-house technologies and knowledge such as communication technology and communication security cultivated through the development of smartphones, as an important technology in anticipation of the arrival of the era of autonomous driving, and 5G Japan and Germany to realize this. Conducted connected driving experiments and worked with partners to improve technologies such as low-delay transmission (video / control signals) and communication control (monitoring / prediction) using the telematics system installed in VISION-S 01. It is supposed to be.
Deepening the mobility entertainment space “Entertainment”
　In the entertainment domain, seat speakers that realize a three-dimensional sound field and streaming services that support “360 Reality Audio” provide an immersive music experience that makes you feel as if you are surrounded by live music by your favorite artist.
　In addition, VISION-S is equipped with the video distribution service “BRAVIA CORE for VISION-S” for the purpose of providing a realistic video viewing experience on the front panoramic screen in the vehicle interior and the display of each seat in the rear seats. Then, in order to explore further entertainment experiences, in addition to the game experience by connecting to the PlayStation at home remotely, we have made it possible to enjoy a variety of games by newly streaming via the cloud.
