In a surprise announcement, Sony unveiled an electric concept car called the Vision-S during its keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas today.
The company said the car has 33 sensors, including a CMOS sensor and a ToF (Time of Flight) sensor (both of which are typically used in cameras) to detect objects and people accurately outside and inside the car. In addition, it uses a Solid State LiDAR to gauge and map the area around the vehicle to avoid collision and drive at a safe distance and speed.
According to its specification page, the Vision-S can go from 0-100 km per hour in just 4.8 seconds. In comparison, the top variant of Tesla 3 can hit that speed in 3.4 seconds.
For in-car entertainment, the company has included a panoramic screen in the front, on the dashboard, to consume content. Plus, each seat in the vehicle has a built-in speaker with Sony’s “360 reality audio” surround sound technology.
Sony isn’t the first device maker to try its hand at making an electric car. Chinese company LeEco also announced a similar project in 2016. However, because of the firm’s financial troubles, the company folded.
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Does the Japanese tech giant want to eventually start selling cars? Maybe someday, but we don’t know for sure. However, as TechCrunch noted, it will likely sell sensors and accessories to other electric car makers around the world, even if it doesn’t become the next major automobile brand in short order.
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