Sony Honda Mobility Inc. is exhibiting at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, USA, running from Tuesday, January 9, through Friday, January 12, 2024.
Izumi Kawanishi, the company's Representative Director, President, and COO, unveiled the prototype of the electric vehicle AFEELA at the press conference.
New EV AFEELA Debuts with DualSense Control Demo
Note: Mr. Kawanishi's appearance starts around the 28:24 mark
Kawanishi took the stage at the press conference and immediately summoned the evolved AFEELA electric vehicle prototype, but...
He casually produced the familiar DualSense controller for the PlayStation 5.
YouTube
The AFEELA drove itself onto the stage. While Kawanishi explained that this was "just a demo feature," the display effectively demonstrated the potential of the vehicle's onboard software.
Developing a Virtual Simulator in Collaboration with Epic Games
Sony Honda Mobility and Epic Games announced their collaboration at CES 2023. At the CES 2024 press conference, they showcased their progress with a new simulator built in a virtual space. This simulator runs on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.3 and will support future updates.
Comment from Kim Libreri, CTO of Epic Games
AFEELA Official WebsiteWe are thrilled to work with Sony Honda Mobility to deliver world-class mobility experiences that lead the way not only in connected visual communication but also social entertainment.
Comment from Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President, and COO of Sony Honda Mobility
AFEELA Official WebsiteTo continue expanding In-Cabin entertainment by incorporating sensing and vehicle data, Unreal Engine plays a key role for AFEELA. We are pleased to be working with Epic Games to realize our shared vision for the future of mobility.
Developing an Interactive Personal Agent in Partnership with Microsoft
Sony Honda Mobility is developing an interactive personal agent to evolve mobility into an entity that resonates with users. They revealed a collaboration with Microsoft, utilizing the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service for development. The era of Knight Rider is almost here!
Comment from Izumi Kawanishi, Representative Director, President, and COO of Sony Honda Mobility
AFEELA Official WebsiteAI plays an essential role in achieving our goal to redefining the relationship between people and mobility, enhancing emotional user experience. Microsoft is a key partner to provide conversational personal agent. We are pleased to be working with Microsoft to realize our vision.
Comment from Jessica Hawk, Corporate Vice President, Data, AI, and Digital Applications Product Marketing, Microsoft
AFEELA Official WebsiteGenerative AI is a new canvas that is amplifying human creativity and creating opportunities for creators and designers to completely transform the in-vehicle experience. We are proud of our collaboration with Sony Honda Mobility and excited to see their innovative use of Azure AI technologies and their ability to build with confidence knowing Microsoft Azure is providing a trusted platform as the AI landscape and mobility industry evolves. As these new technologies come forward, safe and responsible AI will continue to be a top priority for both organizations.
AFEELA to Appear in Gran Turismo 7
Sony Honda Mobility also announced a collaboration with Polyphony Digital, the developer of the Gran Turismo series and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The companies will cooperate on vehicle development, and the "AFEELA Prototype 2024" will arrive in a 2024 update for Gran Turismo 7.
The full press conference is available on the YouTube channel "Sony - Japan," and you can check out the AFEELA announcement on the AFEELA official website.
1/8（月）に開催された #CES2024 ソニーグループプレスカンファレンスに、代表取締役 社長 兼 COO川西… pic.twitter.com/RopO7Yxbm2
— AFEELA_JP (@shmAFEELA_jp) January 9, 2024
