Sony Reveals The Vision-S 02 Electric SUV-Price and Features

Tests with this prototype started in 2020, traveling on European roads since December of that year to validate systems and components while developing sensors and accessory technologies for the interior and exterior. Sony kicked off 5G testing in April 2021 and has been leveraging its experience to include it in its car.

The next step in this strategy was unveiled at CES 2022, with the Vision-S 02 using the same 'cloud'-based platform as the Vision-S 01, offering a high-tech interior and high versatility provided for the seven possible places. Sony is aiming for a model that appeals to a more diverse type of customer with an active lifestyle.

The brand also explains that the Vision-S prototypes are important in the development of new safety and driving assistance solutions, with sensors installed 360 degrees around the vehicle, including new state-of-the-art components with high resolution and high sensitivity, to which are added LiDAR sensors that can analyze in detail the three-dimensional space around the vehicle. Sony indicates that this technological conglomerate positions the car at level 2+ of automated driving.

There are also sensors for driver authentication and for taking care of passengers, also allowing voice commands or gestures, increasing interactivity on board. The vehicle's acceleration and deceleration sounds can be customized, for example, in another technological detail associated with personalization. Vehicle settings, virtual keys, and user adjustments can be synchronized between the vehicle and the 'cloud' using mobile communications, the role of 5G technology being relevant here for faster transfers and 'over-the-air' communications.

There is even a remote operation functionality in anticipation of the arrival of technological driving in the future.

The Vision-S 02 uses two all-wheel-drive electric motors with 200 kW each for a combined power of 400 kW. It measures 4895 mm long, 1930 mm wide, 1650 mm high, and 3030 mm wheelbase.

On board, one of the aspects that Sony has worked on is entertainment, with speakers in the seats to create an immersive three-dimensional sound environment, as if passengers were “at a live concert with their favorite artist”. In another context, the Vision-S also has a digital video service 'Bravia Core for Vision-S', which allows the shared or individual reproduction of videos on the front panoramic screen or individual screens at the back.

Interaction with the well-known Playstation video game system will be another of the Vision-S's potential, being able to play in the car using the remote connection to the console at home.

Out to accelerate the field of mobility within the company, Sony has announced that it will establish a new area, 'Sony Mobility Inc.' in spring 2022, through which it will explore its entry into the electric vehicle market. The new company intends to take advantage of Artificial Intelligence and robotics technologies to design a world of living in harmony between humans and robotics to propel society to new levels.