Why Sony makes cars, or why they don't

From January 5 to January 8, 2022, the world's largest ICT convergence exhibition 'CES 2022', hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
* CTA:
Consumer Technology Association
* CES:
The International Consumer Electronics Show

It is true that there were many concerns about holding this event as many companies announced early to give up on participation in a situation where most offline events could not be held normally due to the impact of COVID-19 around the world.

However, 'CES 2022' showed enthusiasm in which about 2100 global companies and institutions participated in on/off despite such bad news.

Personally, this year's CES 2022 event is memorable enough to be called an Auto Show.

The automobile industry, which is undergoing a strong electrification wave, is recognizing the automobile as an IT device and is making various efforts to provide various values ​​in everyday life, not just a simple means of transportation.

Representatively, 'iX Flow', unveiled by 'BMW', can change vehicle color in real time by applying special electronic ink technology. showed a technology in which pigments gather on the surface of the capsule and change color.

The Theater Mode, which provides the best entertainment experience in the car, was also quite impressive.

A 31.3-inch panoramic display with 8K resolution of 7680*2160 pixels and a diamond surround sound system from high-end speakers B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) provided an immersive cinematic experience.

It is thought that this means that it will be expanded into a tool that constitutes an individual's lifestyle beyond a simple means of transportation by providing a segmented and customized experience to car users.

In other words, it can be said that it showed a side of IT that has definitely changed the common sense about automobiles that we had until now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80-3--poFec

In this way, the CES 2022 event greatly raised expectations for the ITization of automobiles.

In the past, Sony ruled the world with various IT electronic products such as home appliances, audio/visual devices, and laptops, and now it is expanding its business to various markets such as finance, entertainment, and medical care, and Sony is being reborn as a new company. Let's take a look at what Sony's declaration of entry into the automobile market really means.

Sony is one step ahead of Apple

During the CES 2022 event, a variety of articles poured out, but there were a lot of articles comparing Sony and Apple in particular.

I think this is because both companies have in common that they are both traditional IT companies that have made products loved by people around the world and are preparing to launch electric vehicles.

In the case of the so-called 'Apple Car', on December 23, 2021, Taiwanese media released a rumor in September 2022, and once again became an issue, but Apple has not yet officially mentioned it, so it is still only a rumor.

On the other hand, at this CES 2022 event, Sony officially announced its entry into the automobile market by unveiling the passenger-type electric vehicle VISION-S 01 and the SUV-type electric vehicle VISION-S 02 together.

 

At the last CES 2020 event, the VISION-S 01 concept car was unveiled for the first time.

However, this is not the first time Sony has announced an electric car.

At that time, many media outlets poured out a lot of articles focusing on automobile manufacturing, such as saying that Sony is finally going to make a car.

Of course, such an analysis is not 100% wrong, but Sony is not simply commercializing VISION-S, but in a situation where the business axis is changing from mobile to mobility, and by actually making a car, Sony itself is a general supplier to the new world that will unfold in the era of 5G and automobiles. It seems that it can be seen as the result of strategic consideration to find various possibilities.

As mentioned earlier, Sony introduced a new SUV-type electric vehicle two years after the release of the first model, which enabled them to further solidify their position in this market.

In this respect, Sony, which showed the automobile-related technologies it has been researching for the public through the event, is clearly better than Apple.

You can see it's one step faster. Let's check the above situation through the background of electric vehicle development mentioned by 'IZUMI KAWANISHI', Sony's AI robotics business manager and VISION-S development executive.

"In the 2000s, there was a revolution in the cell phone and mobile industry"
"Manufacturers and telecommunication companies have provided differentiated services by selling mobile phones equipped with their own platforms and applications, but with the advent of smartphones, everything has changed dramatically."
“From the HW∙SW∙OS released by the platform and the numerous applications running on it, people have easy access to a vast amount of information and services, which has completely changed the way people live.”

"The mobile phone makers have also changed the industry landscape by shifting from the conventional vertical integration model to the horizontal division of labor model unique to the IT industry."

“In addition, the automotive industry is also undergoing a period of transformation that will occur once in 100 years due to technological innovation into a new area called C A S E.

* CASE is an expression that calls the future car area in the automobile industry.
Means Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services, Electrified

“In view of these two major trends, the mega-trend that will follow mobile is probably mobility.”

“I think mobility will play a big role as the biggest change and innovation factor in the next 10 years”

The basic design concept is OVAL Now, let's take a look at the charm of Sony's VISION-S from what philosophy was born.

First of all, if we look at the styling, the VISION-S prototype is designed by Sony designers to find inspiration from the question “What should Sony’s car look like?” It is characterized by designing the part directly.

So far, Sony has a lot of design experience in consumer products, but VISION-S is the first car.

In fact, this size was not common among Sony's products, and while it had a design philosophy as a whole, there were many difficulties in designing it than I thought, even to satisfy the laws and regulations of each country and safety.

If this product had been a simple, non-moving design mock-up, it would have been possible to design more freely, but since it was a drivable vehicle, extremely realistic styling was required.

The basic concept that designers came up with while constantly discussing and bumping into each other for a Sony-like design was the OVAL (ellipse).

In other words, 'three ovals surround a person' with the motif of an enveloping ellipse, and the meaning of the three ellipses is as follows.

• Spacious interior space that directly envelops passengers
• A safety sensor that wraps around the entire vehicle in 360 degrees.
• Always connected with society,

Information and entertainment that wraps around a vehicle The concept of multiple layers of ovals centered on the person who rides the vehicle became the basic starting line for the design.

This ellipse is also symbolically expressed in brand identity and emblems.

For example, when the owner approaches the car, the oval DRL (Daytime Running Lamp) that wraps around the car around the brand logo is animated and brightly lit up as if wrapped in a belt, and when you get into the car, the interior elements that run from the bottom of the dashboard to the center of both doors and This DRL feel is connected, giving the occupant the feeling of being hugged.

This oval design concept is also reflected in the entertainment aspect of the vehicle.

First, the panoramic screen attached to the front envelops the occupants with various and rich visual information.

In addition, a speaker with Sony's 360 Reality Audio is built-in around the headrest for each seat, providing a vivid sense of presence as if an artist is playing directly in the car, immersing each occupant into a personal world of sound. give it

In addition, each occupant can enjoy entertainment using individual screens in the rear seat, as well as playing one image on a total of three screens including the front panoramic screen, so that all occupants can watch the same video as if watching TV together as a family at home. It is also possible to enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x26q3TqSS68

Safety is the key to future cars

I often use the expression "the core of the manufacturing industry and the centerpiece of the front and rear industrial technologies". That means that various technologies are required to make a car in addition to manufacturing, which is why Sony is trying to respond to the future mobility market with VISION-S.

In other words, it is a manufacturer that has made various products, and it can show its strengths in that it has accumulated technologies related to imaging, sensing, data analysis and processing, as well as cloud, AI and network for a long time.

These technologies are being used to maximize vehicle safety. Let's take a look at some of the related issues.

Autonomous driving, one of the technological innovation areas of future cars, can fully enjoy its value only when the ultimate safety is guaranteed, so Sony is also putting a lot of effort into this area.

We are realizing the concept of 'Safety Cocoon', which always monitors the surroundings of the vehicle in 360 degrees in various situations in our daily life and provides a sense of security to the occupants and those around them.

In fact, VISION-S currently has a total of 40 Sony automotive CMOS image sensors installed inside and outside the vehicle.

Initially, 33 sensors were installed, but the model unveiled at CES 2022 is equipped with 7 additional sensors to further enhance safety.

The current ADAS system of VISION-S is being developed with the goal of autonomous driving level 2 plus level, and the sensor layout and system configuration have been considered so that it can respond to the level 4 autonomous driving level in a specific place through future software updates.

* ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.
Intelligent Driver Assistance Systems

In addition, it is equipped with a Time of Flight (ToF) camera sensor to monitor the occupant's condition in real time to determine concentration/fatigue from facial expressions and actions, and if necessary, give an alarm to prevent dangerous situations, as well as a lip reading system. It accurately grasps the occupant's intentions of utterance even in noisy situations, enabling navigation and manipulation of various contents without difficulty.

In addition, we are focusing on human-oriented technology so that passengers can move safely and comfortably without directly operating functions while driving as much as possible, such as automatically adjusting the vehicle's interior temperature according to the occupant's condition.

Five evolutionary points of VISION-S

The fact that a car is being recognized as an IT device basically means that the number of electrical and electronic components or the proportion of applied software is gradually increasing.

And from a software point of view, the connectivity with the network and cloud will inevitably become very important.

Sony is also focusing on five technologies that it wants to continuously evolve in this regard: 5G, cloud AI, OTA, sensing, and security.

Among these five factors, 5G takes a lot of time to build a national network, so connection with automobiles may take a long time, but in the end, it is the future to come. We are maximizing the boarding experience through data learning, analysis of passenger usage patterns, and feedback.

In particular, if you take a closer look at the cloud configuration for VISION-S, all the foundations such as data analysis, AI learning, and user and vehicle management are being built on AWS.

In addition, ADAS and sensing technology for autonomous driving, user authentication as a personalized IT device, and overall security for system integrity are evolving five elements in the strategy of platforming VISION-S.

This strategy can also be understood as an extension of Sony's previous offering of various products and services that enrich users' lifestyles by combining hardware, software, and cloud.

Why Sony is developing an electric vehicle

It is a fact that Sony is making electric vehicles and it has already become a public information that has been revealed to the world.

But once again, it is still unknown whether Sony will release the VISION-S as a finished car someday.

It is true that the concept of VISION-S, as well as the design and various hardware and software, is sincerely designed for electric vehicle development, but it has not yet officially announced its intention to launch an electric vehicle.

Therefore, it can be understood as a strategy to enter the automobile industry as a supplier and respond to a new era by utilizing numerous adjacent technologies and service experiences through the development of electric vehicles.

Mr. Kawanishi Izumi, who is in charge of development of VISION-S, introduced briefly at the outset,
He also revealed that he learned a lot about car design through collaboration with 'Magna Steyr', and the VISION-S design and manufacturing is actually taking place here.
* Magna Steyr
(MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co KG) is an Austrian automobile manufacturer and defense company established in 1864, mainly producing vehicles from other companies.

In particular, in the case of open cars, with the world's highest level of unrivaled technology, we are in charge of roof design and production of most European brands' open car models, such as all Ferrari (soft top) / Porsche (soft top) / Mercedes-Benz (hard top) models. ohm

Magna, which has an annual production capacity of about 250,000 vehicles, is still in charge of consignment production of BMW 5 Series, Jaguar E/I Pace, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and Fisker's electric SUV model Ocean, or even undertaking it from the new car development stage. Steyr's partnership, if Sony's main purpose was to make and release a car, I think it would have been possible to introduce a product that can be produced immediately by entrusting it to such a place or create a corporate structure that makes it possible.

In the process of developing VISION-S, Sony is focusing on technologies to improve ride comfort or control various functions with software and sensors, and prioritizes providing an advanced experience to passengers using the vehicle. We are focusing on creating a more enjoyable and safer environment by developing the best in-vehicle entertainment system based on

Considering these things, Sony is not trying to become another automaker, but it can be understood as an attempt to further advance the area it has been good at and maintain its competitiveness with mobility and extreme suitability.

If you look at the video released in January 2021, you can indirectly see what direction the two companies collaborated and what VISION-S means from a luxury car consignment production expert.

Looking at Sony's Future On January 5, the first day of CES 2022, the Sony stock price continued to rise from the afternoon, rising 5% from the previous day to 15,520 yen, surpassing 15,000 yen for the first time in 22 years. I did.

After recording 16,300 yen on March 21, 2000 and falling to 789 yen on December 5, 2012, Sony succeeded in diversifying its business and grew little by little before reaching its peak again.

The main factor was the purchase of foreign investors, which must have been why the announcement of the SUV type VISION-S at CES 2022 had that much repercussion.

Already two years ago, at the same CES event, the passenger-type VISION-S concept was announced.

However, by releasing a concept movie in which a female model actually moves after selecting a destination in the dedicated app in an entertainment vehicle loaded with more advanced sensing, AI, image and sound technology, in addition to the real SUV-type VISION-S I think the biggest harvest was to effectively convey the feeling that the mobility-related technologies and electric vehicles of the company are in the commercial stage.

In addition, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, who is well known for always making prudent decisions based on data, announced the establishment of a new corporation 'Sony Mobility' at the event, which also raised high expectations.

This was a clear sign to the industry that Sony had started moving specifically for its mobility-related business, so the whole world could not help but pay attention.

In the future, 'Sony Mobility' plans to promote the entertainment robot 'aibo' and drone 'Airpeak' business in addition to EVs.

For reference, 'aibo', the world's first pet dog robot, has been very popular since its appearance in June 1999. At the time of its release, it was sold at a high price of 250,000 yen, but a total of 1 million units including the 4th generation were sold, establishing itself as an innovative product.

After that, it disappeared due to Sony's poor performance in 2006, but in January 2018, it was equipped with AI and returned to consumers with a sophisticated look.

In the age of aging, which started in earnest from the 1990s, seniors living alone comforted their loneliness through 'aibo'.

In this sense, the establishment of 'Sony Mobility' can be viewed as an expression of Sony's will to restore the glory of the past by supporting a better life with true AI and robotics technology.

Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and his executives mentioned at the CES 2022 Press Conference, Sony's overall move that we looked at above can be read naturally.

First of all, the story that CEO Kenichiro Yoshida came up with as the first speaker of Sony seemed to represent Sony.

"Sony's reason for being is to fill the world with emotion with the power of creativity and technology. In the past two years, I have come to realize the importance of why Sony exists"

“Sony, a creative entertainment company, through all its activities, through business and technology, will contribute to the better development of society and the planet, and will help people with the same interests to connect more deeply and strengthen the bonds within that community. "

Then, the following technologies and products were introduced sequentially, explaining the areas that Sony is currently focusing on.
• 'Virtual Production', a video production support tool,
• 'Airpeak', a professional drone that enhances creativity,
• Latest smartphone 'Xperia PRO-I'
• PS game title first movie 'UNCHARTED' Here, especially when 'Uncharted', the first work of 'PlayStation Productions', which produces PS-only game title IPs into movies or TV works, was released, 'Tom Holland', who played the lead role (Tom Holland)' and 'Tom Rothman', the CEO of Sony Pictures, took the stage and heated up the atmosphere of the site and raised the level of attention.

At the scene, 'Tom Holland' enjoyed a lot of games while resting in the trailer during the filming of 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' in the past, and he said very seriously that the best TV and the latest PS prepared in this way are the privileges of actors who appear in Sony movies.

One of the games he enjoyed at the time was 'Uncharted', and as he filmed it, he wanted to give newness, freshness, and emotion to game lovers.

Sony will then not only turn numerous PS game titles into movie/drama content, but also jointly acquire 'The Evolution Championship Series (Evo)' and the groundbreaking video/sound, virtual reality, sensing, and tracking technology of PS 5, and hold the world's largest fighting game competition. In addition, following the announcement of a partnership with Manchester City Football Club to realize a fan community in a virtual space, 'Hawk-Eye', a real-time vision processing technology for building a community in the sports field, also showed expectations for the vitalization of e-sports. The VISION-S of Daejeon appeared on the stage and quietly told the story of the mobility mega trend and Sony's vision.

Personally, I have a strong thought that what Sony was trying to convey to the press and the public at CES 2022 Press Conference was 'Sony of creators, by creators, and for creators'.

Of course, it may have been natural that Sony was going to announce the theme at this event was "Co-create the Future of Entertainment," but after dramatically evolving the technology that helps all creative activities in the world, and grafting it with various hardware and software, people It was read as meaning to enrich life.

In the end, the storyline at the Press Conference emphasized the future of Sony as a solution provider in the automotive market, where you can conveniently enjoy Sony's various technologies, products and contents at any time in VISION-S, a space that makes up your life.

So, will Sony release the VISION-S someday?
Let's check that part for yourself through the content following the announcement of the establishment of Sony Mobility mentioned by Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida.
"That being said, I am excited to announce this spring, we are establishing a new company, Sony Mobility Inc. It will accelerate these efforts. And we are exploring commercial launch of Sony's EV"