The Sony SC-1 is an AI-enabled, remote-driven vehicle

Can distinguish age and gender for target specific ads

I’ve long argued that one of the key strengths of Sony in the world of AI and robotics is their image sensors that can be found in competing cameras and smartphones. Though far from a ‘sexy’ product, with the introduction of the IMX382 image sensor, I wrote:

In order for the future world of Star Trek to come to life, we need sensors and machine learning in every product that we come in contact with but a blind device can only extrapolate so much data from its surroundings. Could it be that it’s Sony who helps bring vision to AI?

Aside from the IMX382, Sony has also been hard at work developing camera technology for self-driving vehicles as is evidenced by the IMX390 sensor featuring

light sensitivity down to 0.1 lux, helping a vehicle see road signs or pedestrians on a clear, full-moon night — without its lights. It’s also got 120dB HDR sensitivity, wide enough to handle tunnels or urban night driving. It can mitigate flicker using a longer exposure time, a function that works in parallel with HDR, since both situations often occur at the same time.

Though unclear which sensors are featured in this vehicle, the fantastically named Sony SC-1 could be the first culmination of their sensor division and their investments into AI.

From Japan Business Times:

Sony Corp. has developed a vehicle that can be driven remotely using advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence to capture a 360-degree image of its surroundings, the electronics maker said Tuesday. The SC-1, which is about 3 meters long, a little under 2 meters tall and accommodates three passengers, is not designed for road use but can transport people at leisure facilities such as golf courses and shopping malls. It features five sensors used in high-end digital cameras to relay imagery back to a controller, who can drive the vehicle from afar to transport guests or customers. It can also use artificial intelligence to distinguish the age and gender of people walking nearby, to show demographic-specific advertisements on the 55-inch ultra-high definition 4K displays on each of its four sides — for example, running an ad for diapers when near young parents with a baby, a company official said.

It’s doubtful this will ever materilize into a real product, if only for the astronomical price tag such a product will carry versus a typical ‘dumb cart’ that transports you from point A to point B. Instead, I think the SC-1 purely exists as a testbed for Sony tech and a platform which they can use to showcase their technology to other manufacturers.