Sony Is Coming After Tesla With Its New Electronic Car, Sony Vision-S

Sony surprised everyone at the CES when, towards the end of its presentation, it unveiled its own electric car, a stunning work of art called the Sony Vision-S. But the company also spent a minute or two discussing the ultra-modern vehicle that many are left wondering if the company plans to push it into production, which might mean it would go head to head with Tesla.

The Sony Vision-S prototype has some impressive specs. It is a four-seater sedan that sports two 200kW engines, which is powerful enough to accelerate the car from 0-62 MPH in just 4.8 seconds and eventually reaching a top speed of 149 MPH, according to Engadget.

The Sony Vision-S is meant to showcase the brand’s expertise in a wide range of niches such as camera sensor technology, entertainment, and even AI. One of the most outstanding features of the vehicle is that is has a total of 33 sensors located both in the car’s interior as well as exterior.

There are high-resolution, HDR-compatible sensors that are probably used for object detection, color identification, and road sensing. There is a Solid State LiDAR which can be used day and night time vision as well as object detection. The Sony Vision-S even has a radar that works best in distance sensing as well as detecting relative velocity.

Inside the car, there are Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that can detect people and objects both inside and outside the vehicle. This array of ToF sensors is responsible for what Sony calls “Safety Cocoon Concept” but it did not give details on what the cocoon can actually do except that the vehicle can detect 360 degrees around it.

Meanwhile, the Sony Vision-S will likely feature some degree of autonomous driving feature just like Tesla. At this point, it has Level 2 autonomous driving skills, which means that the car’s AI can take care of braking, acceleration, and steering but the driver still needs to monitor the car in case the system fails.

The car will also likely sport a variety of entertainment options. According to The Verge, it has 360 audio, always-on connectivity, and multiple widescreen displays.

“This prototype embodies our contribution to the future of mobility,” Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said. There was no mention of the prototype reaching the production phase at the moment.