Sony Vision S-Concept Still At R&D Stage

Sony wowed the world at CES 2020 with its Vision S concept car which was last seen in May during tests. Now Sony's Executive Vice President Izumi Kawanishi has revealed an update on the car. He has stated that there is no concrete plan per se with the car as it remains in a research and development stage. The car has shown up time and again since the first unveil but Sony reiterates that it is not entering the automotive business.

"We have to investigate what is our purpose in contributing to mobility service. That is our basic idea, and we have to continue the R&D phase," Kawanishi told Automotive News. But he also revealed that there will be an update on the electric car during the CES conference in 2022 in Las Vegas. 

Also Read: Sony starts road tests of Vision S concept car

Sony has integrated several technologies from its consumer electronics portfolio in the vehicle. It has integrated the 360 reality audio stack, 5G connectivity, a system for PlayStation to be integrated into the vehicle. Sony is also working on autonomous driving tech leveraging its experience in making camera sensors. The ultimate goal at least so far seems to be a showcase of technologies that Sony creates that potentially can be bought by third party car makers. 

A good example of this is the fact that the 360 reality audio stack has now made its way to the new Mahindra XUV700. 

"In order to build such entertainment space in the vehicle, we need to understand the opportunity and build the right cabin system," Kawanishi said. The Vision S concept is something that has been manufactured by Magna on behalf of Sony.