Every so often, futurists make predictions that pan out with incredible accuracy, like Arthur C. Clarke predicting the internet or Gene Roddenberry seemingly inventing the iPad. Granted, we’re not all flying around in DeLoreans powered by recyclables and riding real hover boards, but hey, we can’t all be right all the time. However, some of the best predictions that come to fruition are based somewhat in contemporary reality and are more educated guesses than wild-eyed pipe dreams. It’s why shows like Black Mirror hit so close to home. Each episode’s plot isn’t too far fetched from the familiar. And it’s the same reason the sleek Sony Vision-S concept car is probably a hyper-realistic peek at the generic electric car that’ll crowd the roads in 2030.
On the outside, the Vision-S casts nearly the same silhouette as a Tesla Model 3, Lucid Air or Porsche Taycan. It’s an unimaginative design, but it’s forgivable. What Sony is really showing off is the interior, the sensors, infotainment and user interface. A total of 33 sensors pepper the car inside and out, including complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera imaging, solid-state lidar and radar. The same sort of technology Toyota and Lexus currently use for their driver-assist systems.
The Sony Vision-S interior’s strength is its plausibility.
The movie Sony put together for the Vision-S demonstrates some of the car’s more glamorous futuristic attributes, but in reality, the party tricks are simply polished versions of things we have today. The car uses sensors and cameras to recognize the owner approaching and greets him as soon as he hits the startup button. A handful of luxury cars already have this in some form, as do smart home devices and the smartphone or tablet you’re probably reading this on. Later in the film, the driver locates a friend using the car’s navigation, picks her up and then the car recognizes her as soon as she enters. Simply combine the Find My Friends app and put multiple modems in the car for multi-device connectivity and you’ll wonder why this isn’t already a standard feature in most cars.
All this isn’t to say the Sony Vision-S is a lame concept. Quite the opposite. While Sony has no plans to build this car, its a beautiful showcase of the not-too-distant future. Sony took technologies that are readily available to us in 2020 and put them all in one place. And even if high-priced luxury cars are the first to trial these creature comforts of tomorrow, we all know they’ll eventually become commonplace. If anything, the Vision-S is a straightforward and honest look at what to expect on the road in just a few short years.
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