Sony and Honda Collaborates to unveil EV prototype Afeela: A Moving Entertainment Space

Sony and Honda have collaborated to unveil an EV prototype named Afeela. Afeela is a foor-door EV car with autonomous capabilities and that can be turned into "moving entertainment space".

Highlights

1. Sony and Honda has collaborated to unveil EV prototype "Afeela".
2. Afeela has autonomous capabilities and can be turned into "moving entertainment space".
3. Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony CEO, discussed company's startegy while the Afeela was driven on stage at CES 2023 on Wednesday.

Sony and Honda's new EV prototype - "Afeela"

Nearly a year after Sony and Honda announced intentions to jointly manufacture and market EVs, these two firms unveiled a prototype named Afeela.

The four-door car was driven onstage at CES on Wednesday while Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida discussed the company's mobility strategy, which prioritizes producing vehicles with autonomous capabilities and that can be turned into "moving entertainment spaces[s]."

The Afeela will be available for presale in the first half of 2025, with sales beginning the following year, according to Yoshida. The first shipments will be sent to North American consumers in the spring of 2026.

Sony and Honda have previously said that the new EV would be constructed initially at Honda's North America facility and will have Level 3 automated driving capabilities under limited situations. Level 3 autonomy indicates that the automobile can drive itself in conditions such as traffic jams, but the human driver must take control when the system demands it.

Today, Sony disclosed further details about the vehicle's design, including the incorporation of external media along the front of the vehicle, allowing it to communicate with other road users and transmit required information.

"We intend to investigate how media may produce a joyful and thrilling mobility encounter," Yoshida stated.

According to Yoshida, the prototype is also outfitted with 45 cameras and sensors both inside and outside the car to assure safety and security. In order to avoid accidents, the in-cabin sensors will monitor the driver's state.

According to Yoshida, Afeela will also provide clients with best-in-class entertainment. The Sony-Honda joint venture will include Epic Games' Unreal Engine, a 3D computer graphics game engine, inside their automobiles to aid in the visualisation of not just entertainment but also communication and safety.

"We foresee a new in-cabin experience employing our expertise in UX and UI technologies, in addition to movies, games, and music," Yoshida stated.

According to Epic Games' Chief Technical Officer, Kim Libreri, the most natural method to show crucial data within the automobile is through intuitive interactive photo real augmentation, which Unreal Engine excels at.

"In the future, the vehicle will be a next-generation social networking destination. Not just for the residents, but also for their friends and coworkers. It will become a part of our digital life," Libreri stated onstage at CES.

Afeela cars will be built around Qualcomm's system-on-a-chip technology, including their Snapdragon digital chassis, to handle all of the compute required for automated driving and advanced driver assistance system capabilities, car telematics, and what we expect to be a tricked out infotainment system.

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