Sony's self-driving car that goes from 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds heads to Tokyo for road testing
SONY is developing a self-driving car than can go from 0-60mph (0-100kph) in under five seconds.
Dubbed the Vision-S, a prototype electric motor has arrived in Tokyo for public road tests that will begin later this year, the Japanese tech titan said.
Sony unveiled the vehicle in January at the CES 2020 tech show in Las Vegas but at the time suggested it wouldn't be taking the car to the streets.
The company now appears to have U-turned on that stance, according to a post uploaded to the company's website last week.
"Vision-S Prototype has arrived in Tokyo for advancing our sensing and audio technologies," Sony said.
"The prototype vehicle is also currently under development for public road testing this fiscal year."
Sony did not say when or where it planned to start public road tests. The company has not said whether it ever intends to mass-manufacture the car.
It’s only a concept for now, but the electric vehicle will be self-driving, if it ever comes to market.
It has more than 30 sensors to make it enjoyable inside and safe on the road.
Sony has always been great at making camera sensors, so these will be used to guide the car.
Apparently, the vehicle will be powered by dual 200kW engines, one in the front and the other in the rear.
They'll allow the car to reach a top speed of 149mph and get it from 0-60mph (0-100kph) in 4.8 seconds.
That's because the car is all-electric, giving it additional torque that it can use to accelerate far quicker than a petrol or diesel motor.
Back in January, Sony said the Vision-S had Level 2 autonomous driving capabilities.
That means its AI can handle steering, accelerating and braking, but requires someone in the car at all times to ensure it doesn't crash.
The prototype was initially developed to showcase Sony's technology to automobile-makers, but it appears Sony now has other ideas for it.
"The prototype aims to deliver Sony's own technology, a full entertainment experience with 360 Reality Audio in the speakers built into each seat, and intuitively operated panoramic screens," Sony said in January.
"The Vision-S Prototype also comes with AI, 5G, and cloud technologies with the aim of continuously updating and evolving the car's functionalities."
In other news, Elon Musk says Tesla cars will be "fully driverless" by 2020.
A reckless couple recently filmed a sex tape in a self-driving Tesla while it cruised down motorway on autopilot.
Driverless cars are being retrained to be more like humans after becoming 'overly cautious'.
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