Today, Sony Group Corporation (“Sony”) held an R&D strategy briefing in conjunction with the opening of “Sony Technology Exchange Fair 2022” (“STEF 2022”), a cross-group technology exchange event.

Sony’s Purpose is to “fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology”. At the R&D strategy briefing, Sony set forth its basic approach to R&D to realize this purpose over the long term and to create technologies that will support Sony’s business.

“STEF 2022” introduced a selection of the latest technologies and related efforts of Sony Group’s diverse businesses and R&D organizations under the theme of “Technology that inspires emotion”. STEF is an annual technology exchange event within the Sony Group, which was initiated in 1973 with the aim of creating new value through the exchange of ideas and exposure to a wide range of technologies developed by each business and R&D organization. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event, Sony made a portion of the technology exhibition public for the first time.

For further details, please refer to the special website:

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/technology/activities/STEF2022/#

• R&D Strategy Briefing

Hiroaki Kitano, Executive Vice President and CTO, took the stage at the R&D Strategy Briefing and shared his thoughts on Sony Group’s R&D Mission, which is to “Push our civilization forward and make this planet sustainable”. He then defined sensing, AI, digital virtual spaces as key technical domains in R&D that will play a central role in expanding Sony’s business in the future, and explained his aims to transform Sony into an AI and data-driven company through the collaboration between technology in these three domains. To achieve this goal, he also mentioned he will strengthen Sony’s R&D team, which maximizes the potential of each individual member, while at the same time endeavor to make Sony’s R&D team the “the engine of innovation” that constantly innovate the company.

The presentation materials of the R&D strategy briefing are available at the following IR site.

URL:

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/technology/

For Sony Group to realize its Purpose and make additional strides forward, it will have to, in alignment with its strategic target, continue to create technologies that will inspire a diverse range of people and maximize the potential of various creators. Three core domains in achieving this are sensing, AI, and digital virtual spaces. Sony aims to link these three areas: sensing of real space using Sony’s proprietary technologies, creation of virtual space, and AI that learns from both sensed data and virtual space and provides feedback to sensing and virtual space creation technology. To accelerate the evolution and coordination of these three domains, Sony will also begin developing large-scale AI models to transform Sony into an AI and data-driven company.

To focus on the above technology areas, Sony will strengthen its R&D structure.

Based on Sony AI founded in 2020, Sony will establish Sony Research, which will undertake unprecedented disruptive research and lead the development of a large-scale AI model. Technology Infrastructure Center will also be established and will pursue R&D of fundamental technologies for the Sony’s entire R&D organization, while rapidly deploying those technologies in collaboration with our individual business units. In addition to that, Sony will be creating what is tentatively called the Technology Promotion and Deployment Division, which is to take R&D findings and a variety of other ideas with limited applicability to existing businesses and work to see them quickly implemented in society and business through collaborative efforts within and outside Sony Group. Lastly, R&D themes within Sony’s R&D center that are specific to each business unit and themes in areas that the business unit hopes to strategically strengthen in the future will be transferred to each business unit to accelerate R&D activities.

• About “Sony Technology Exchange Fair (STEF)”

As the place where emotions are created extends beyond physical space and into the virtual, “STEF2022” focuses on technologies that enable the world where the virtual and physical are seamlessly connected. 17 technologies and related efforts were exhibited at Sony Group headquarters and are introduced on a special website in three axes: “capturing physical world,” “digital processing,” and “recreating physical world”.

Details of each technology are available on the special website below:

https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/technology/activities/STEF2022/

• Technologies that are exhibited to public in STEF2022

Technologies that capture what is happening in real space and utilize captured data for new entertainment and sustainability, etc.

• Enabling smooth hand and finger movement depiction in AR for VTuber etc.

“Software development kit “”ToF AR”” utilizing depth technology” *

• Creating new entertainment through shooting and streaming technology

“Auto shooting system, Mobile camera robot, Virtual recording system” *

• Preventing disasters and environmental damage to protect our beautiful Earth

“Sony’s Earth MIMAMORI platform”

• Empowering artists through data analytics

“GROOVEFORCE and Artist Portal” *

• Supporting creators to produce attractive content by leveraging deep emotion analysis

“Movie content evaluation system: VX -Viewing eXperience” *

AI and simulation technology that connects the physical and virtual worlds by learning and processing large amounts of data obtained from physical and virtual spaces

• Creating realistic experiences in the virtual world

“Surgical simulator” *

• Reproducing the real world beautifully

“Mapray digital twin platform” *

• Bringing video and music to life with AI

“Sony’s deep generative models” *

• “Gran Turismo Sophy – a breakthrough in AI

Demonstrates the power of AI to deliver new gaming and entertainment experiences

• Broadening communication between people and robots.

“Cooperation of autonomous entertainment robots (aibo and poiq)”

Video, sound, and interaction technologies that leverage data to recreate realistic experiences both in physical and virtual spaces

• Supporting revolutionary immersive experience for PlayStation®VR2

“3D Sensing technology” and “New rendering Technology”

• Creating a more realistic sports viewing experience

“Hawk-Eye Innovations’ technologies to visualize sports play and Sony’s Spatial Reality Display” *

• Creating together new value through approaching to the sense of smell

“Sony’s Tensor Valve™ technology: unique odorant control technology”

• Reproducing realistic remote space in front of your eyes

“3D high image quality and low latency transmission technology”

*…An introduction video by our engineers is available on special website.

In addition to the above, technology that is related to Triporous™ and collaborative initiatives with universities and enterprises were also exhibited to the public.