The Vision-S, Sony’s first smart electric car, is revealed in three official videos. In particular, we can see the racing car being tested on Austrian roads and on private circuits. Finally, a “making of” sequence reveals how the Japanese giant developed the Vision-S and what improvements have been made since last year’s presentation.
At CES 2020, Sony unveiled the Vision-S, a smart electric car with a futuristic look. Loaded with sensors, the car was not intended to be marketed immediately. Faced with the enthusiasm generated during CES 2020, the Japanese group has changed its mind. From the summer, Sony tested the electric car on Japanese roads.
Then, the Japanese manufacturer expanded its experiments on public roads in Austria. A video published by Sony on January 11, 2021 shows the Vision-S on an Austrian road. The tests were carried out only a few days ago. Sony did not choose Austria at random. Magna Steyr, one of Sony’s main partners in the project, is based in the country. In the process, the company offers a sequence filmed by a drone on a private road.
Sony takes a behind-the-scenes look at how the Vision-S was built
In another video available on YouTube, Sony reveals the behind-the-scenes design of the Vision-S in detail. The firm explains having integrated 7 additional sensors for autonomous driving to provide 360-degree vision. The first version developed was still content with 33 sensors (radar, camera, LiDAR). In the video, Sony also shows an employee playing a video game on the car’s on-board screen with a PlayStation DualShock controller.
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Sony and its partners have visibly added many improvements to the Vision-S over the past few months. Among the major additions are une 5G connection, a voice assistant, gesture controls and a camera capable of keeping an eye on passengers. If the camera spots a sleeping passenger, the car will automatically adjust the seat temperature to help sleep.
Interviewed in the latest video, Frank Stein, president of automaker Magna Steyr, suggests that Vision-S is just the start of a large catalog of smart cars signed Sony. Other Sony partners include Bosch, Continental, Elektrobit Automotive, Valeo, Vodafone, Nvidia, Qualcomm or BlackBerry. For now, it is unclear when Sony’s smart car might hit the market.
