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Sony Vision-S electric car stunned at CES, now in testing on public roads

Nobody saw this slippery EV coming, let alone the Vision-S connected car platform underneath, but people loved it and now it's out in the wild.

Sony Vision-S Concept
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Sony Vision-S Concept

Sony -- yes, Sony -- made a car.

Sony

Sony took CES completely by surprise in January when it debuted a fully baked concept car. Built to showcase and test Vision-S, Sony's new connected car platform, the electric car is a prototype and isn't necessarily supposed to indicate that Sony plans to sell its own cars, at least not anytime soon, but that's not stopping Sony from testing the thing in public in Austria.

The car was built by Sony's AI and robotics team, the same crew that makes the company's cute robotic dog Aibo . The concept doesn't even have a name yet (its code name was Safety Cocoon), although the Japanese company says it has been fully road-tested. According to Sony, this is to ensure the vehicle and its platform Vision-S will comply with applicable safety regulations.

Sony is working with Magna-Steyr -- a company known for doing extensive development and production work for other automotive manufacturers -- to ensure that it's ready to hit the road in Europe. Sony published a video of the car, back in Graz, Austria, after CES, being driven by a human, so it's unclear if the further testing Sony is undergoing is to validate the autonomous car technology that was publicized in Vegas.

Vision-S, which was described briefly on stage during the press conference in Las Vegas, takes advantage of Sony's expertise in sensors, imaging and entertainment to be used in the next generation of electric vehicles. Sony already supplies these technologies to Japanese automakers but wants to make its individual products into systems that can be supplied as an all-in-one solution.

No word yet on what powers the Vision-S, or if it shares a chassis or anything else with other vehicles. Currently, the prototype features 33 sensors placed around the car, which can detect people and other vehicles both inside and outside the car to provide driving support. It also incorporates Sony's 360 Reality Audio to provide an immersive audio experience, with speakers built into each of the car's seats. A panoramic screen faces the front seat to display a diverse array of content accessed through an intuitive user interface.

At this point, given the public's reaction at CES and Sony's continued efforts to publicize the car, we're beginning to question whether the company will continue to treat the car only as a development tool. It's an awfully polished-looking mule, if that's the case, and we wouldn't be shocked if Sony decided to get into the car business after all.

CNET's David Katzmaier contributed to this report.

Sony's Vision-S concept packs a number of new technologies

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Originally published Jan. 6.

Update, Feb. 25: Adds video of the car being tested in Austria with Magna-Steyr.

Katie Collins Senior European Correspondent
Katie a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent, covering tech policy and Big Tech in the EU and UK. Unofficially, she serves as CNET's Taylor Swift correspondent. You can also find her writing about tech for good, ethics and human rights, the climate crisis, robots, travel and digital culture. She was once described a "living synth" by London's Evening Standard for having a microchip injected into her hand.
Katie Collins
Katie a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent, covering tech policy and Big Tech in the EU and UK. Unofficially, she serves as CNET's Taylor Swift correspondent. You can also find her writing about tech for good, ethics and human rights, the climate crisis, robots, travel and digital culture. She was once described a "living synth" by London's Evening Standard for having a microchip injected into her hand.

Article updated on February 25, 2020 at 1:33 PM PST

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Katie Collins Senior European Correspondent
Katie a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent, covering tech policy and Big Tech in the EU and UK. Unofficially, she serves as CNET's Taylor Swift correspondent. You can also find her writing about tech for good, ethics and human rights, the climate crisis, robots, travel and digital culture. She was once described a "living synth" by London's Evening Standard for having a microchip injected into her hand.
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