Sony took Honda to CES to reveal an official look at the AFEELA Prototype, a partnership between 3 companies for a new electric car.
Sony took the stage to talk about “AI for ADAS” and “Mobility as a Creative Entertainment Space” under the theme of redefining the relationship between people and mobility, during their conference on Monday.
There is a ton of technical aspects of this new vehicle, and you can check it out, but overall it seems Sony is helping bring in the video game world to the auto world in various ways. First AI is in basically all aspects of this car to bridge driving and entertainment. The AI in place will learn to place new apps and experiences based on users. AI is also being utilized for the cars sensors to learn and adapt to driving conditions and various aspects of mobility.
What is more interesting is that other companies are now involved in the project as well.
Epic Games has been brought in to develop a virtual spaces that will demonstrate the experiences with the vehicle in AR and virtual spaces.
Polyphony Digital, Gran Turismo creators, were brought in to assist in simulations and bridging the user experience with real time simulations on their technology.
And lastly, Microsoft (Yep, Sony and Microsoft on one team) was brought in to adapt a “personal AI assistant” with Azure powered AI voice and conversations.
New user experience in mobility with sensing data
At CES®2023, SHM announced a collaboration with Epic Games to create new value in mobility services and entertainment. At this time, SHM disclosed the progress of this partnership. SHM unveiled a simulator making use of virtual spaces to create our new user experience in mobility.
This tool simulates external environmental condition such as information of other vehicles, pedestrians, terrain, and weather. By combining this technology with AR, users will enjoy an immersive experience that also enhances safety. SHM will provide a visually stunning 3D map which extensive metadata from the internet is overlaid. Map data can also be used to broaden the possibilities within the development of gaming and entertainment features.
To realize these features by incorporating sensing and vehicle data, SHM uses the powerful gaming engine, Unreal Engine 5. SHM fully uses the latest version, Unreal Engine 5.3, and will continue to implement updates for the latest Unreal Engine advancements.
Mobility as a Creative Entertainment Space
・Opening the mobility development environment (tentative name: AFEELA Co-Creation Program)
SHM will nurture AFEELA as mobility with intelligence. In addition, SHM will pursue new possibilities on top of conventional car values, so that mobility can become a unique and endearing presence for users. Rather than rely solely on keeping the knowledge closed inhouse, SHM will provide an environment where creators and developers can freely develop applications and services that run on AFEELA, as well as a digital platform for co-creation and the expression of creativity.
SHM would like to explore the relationship between people and mobility in a broad, deep, and open way. We want to promote an open development environment for the free expression of digital gadgets so that users will become endeared to AFEELA. We hope that this initiative will bring about changes in mobility, evolving into a service that connects mobility and society. Together with not only users but also creators and developers, SHM will share this creative community with the world.
・Conversational personal agent
SHM has also entered into an agreement with Microsoft to develop a conversational personal agent, using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.
・Collaboration with Polyphony Digital in vehicle development
To develop vehicles that fuse the virtual and the real, mainly in the area of human senses by combining Polyphony Digital’s simulation technology with the development of actual vehicles by SHM.
