White Paper Sony's New Technology Theme Tied to 3 Rs

White Paper Sponsored by Sony’s New Technology Theme Tied to 3 Rs

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has given people all over the world a different perspective on life, including a new level of appreciation for the role that technology can play in their lives. It has also given companies like Sony a mandate for determining how to best leverage its existing core technologies and to develop new ones to create solutions that can help both content creators and content consumers better adapt to our new normal. One of the most profound life lessons we’ve all learned is that, if given the right tools, people can do more activities remotely than anyone had previously considered. From enjoying life-like entertainment to building compelling content from nearly anywhere, the ability to do things in new kinds of environments is turning what many had initially perceived as disastrous roadblocks into new levels of creative freedom and flexibility. Sony refers to the fundamental factors influencing these developments as the three Rs: Reality, Real-Time and Remote. Together these underlying principles are empowering the company to re-envision how it builds tools and technologies that it can use to further enable these freedoms and enable a world of unlimited creativity. At the same time, as the company heads towards a new phase as a reborn Sony Corporation, these same core principles are also allowing the creation of technology-based solutions outside of its traditional consumer AV, imaging, and professional content creation types of products. From an electric-powered autonomous VISION-S prototype vehicle with intelligent cameras to a new professional-focused

line of Airpeak commercial drones for professional photography and video production—capable of dynamic filming and precise, stable flight—Sony is working to broaden its scope.

CONTENT CREATION, CONSUMPTION AND COMMUNITY

At its core, Sony is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. Even more than that, it’s an organization that’s focused on creating compelling experiences that seek to entertain and delight us, while at the same time enabling communities of people to come together and share in those experiences. Given the challenges that the pandemic has placed on people all over the world, this ability to pull together diverse communities through shared experiences has never been more important. The company is best known for creating products that allow professionals to build compelling content on the production side, while at the same time enabling consumers to have the best possible experiences with that content in their own homes. For decades, Sony has made technological innovations that have moved quality standards in both production and consumption forward, and it continues to play a critical role in driving new developments. From the AI-powered processing algorithms in the Cognitive Processor XR found in its new flagship BRAVIA XR TVs, to the immersive, high-resolution music available through its 360 Reality Audio- equipped speakers and flagship Xperia 5G smartphones, the company is still building cutting- edge technologies to enhance the consumer AV experience. On the professional side, its virtual production technologies are enabling the creation of remote live entertainment, including a virtual reality (VR)-based experience that looks ahead to the 5G era. In addition, the company’s Hawk-Eye visual analytics technology is taking real-time sports metrics—such as pitching motions, golf swings, and much more—to a whole new level, providing a new range of options for professional sports broadcasting. Along the way, Sony has also learned how content types and formats have evolved. They were among the first, for example, to fully understand the value of gaming as an extended form of entertainment content. With the recent launch of the PlayStation 5, the company continues to increase the Reality of the gaming experience, thanks to important advances in areas like 4K 120 Hz refresh rates, variable frame rate support, and 3D audio. Initially through the PlayStation Network, and now through the online capabilities of PS5, Sony has also grown to understand the value of dedicated communities with shared interests. The

ability to Remotely interact in Real-Time with other PS5 users around the world is a clear part of the console’s appeal and a clear example of the company’s 3 R’s philosophy.

REMOTE PRODUCTION

The pandemic has also dramatically impacted the ability of professional content creators to pursue their craft, with professional film and TV production having been dramatically reduced in 2020. Thankfully, though, it has not shut down entirely, and several Sony-created technologies are helping to move the process forward. For example, new developments from the Sony Innovation Studios are enabling professional content creators to keep working with a smaller crew, thereby reducing potential contacts, and from nearby studio locations, limiting the need to travel to remote environments. Most of these virtual production technologies weren’t originally built with pandemic-based restrictions in mind, but they have proven to be particularly useful in these challenging times. For example, some of the company’s Virtual Live technologies allow significantly more sophisticated green-screen type techniques to be used, reducing the costs and challenges associated with large physical sets or remote location shoots. In addition, 3D volumetric capturing ©Sony Innovation Studios technology allows people or other physical objects to be placed in digitally created sets, once again extending the creative options for content producers while also reducing potential production risks. Similarly, the company’s Spatial Reality Display, which first debuted at CES 2020 but only recently became commercially available, provides a tool for filmmakers, product designers, and others to create increasingly realistic 3D objects, set designs, and more. The company has also been able to leverage some of its audio technologies in a manner that lets sound engineers in film productions work and collaborate Remotely and in Real-Time with 360 Virtual Mixing Environment (VME). The goal is to demonstrate that lavishly equipped video production sets are no longer necessary to generate extremely compelling, high-quality content.

AIRPEAK DRONES

One of the most EMPOWERING exciting new CREATORS developments for Sony in 2021 is the launch of For Sony, Airpeak its Airpeak line of represents an professional drones. opportunity to extend its Though the low-cost range of tools for consumer market has professional content arguably been commoditized for some time, the market for creators, while at the professional quality, business-focused drones remains same time, open up new relatively nascent. markets for the many For Sony, Airpeak represents an opportunity to extend its business applications range of tools for professional content creators, while at the that require visual same time, open up new markets for the many business inspection and applications that require visual inspection and monitoring. monitoring. Though it Though it may not be initially apparent, Airpeak is actually may not be initially able to leverage some of the same design principles and apparent, Airpeak is technologies as the aibo robotic dog. Like aibo, Airpeak drones actually able to leverage integrate sensing, autonomous thinking, and the ability to act some of the same design autonomously—all perfect examples of the three Rs principles and principles: Reality, Real-Time, and Remote. technologies as the aibo For videographers and other content creators, the Airpeak’s robotic dog. Like aibo, ability to carry a Sony Alpha mirrorless professional camera Airpeak drones integrate empowers the ability to explore new frontiers of visual sensing, autonomous expression. Images from drones have now become an thinking, and the ability important new creative option for filmmakers, and Sony’s to act autonomously— addition to the market provides new tools to leverage. all perfect examples of In the business world, applications based on high-quality the three Rs principles: image sensors for everything from monitoring wind turbines Reality, Real-Time, and to visually inspecting crops to generating high-precision maps Remote. are all ripe for growth. Sony also recognizes that business environments may need to use entire fleets of drones. Therefore, the company is in the process of creating management and analytics software tools, so that the Airpeak drones can be used in commercial applications.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

At last year’s CES 2020, Sony shocked the world with the debut of its VISION-S autonomous car concept. At this year’s show, the company is highlighting the progress it has made on the platform, moving from a show concept to a functioning vehicle that’s currently being tested on public roads, in some cases with the help of 5G technology. VISION-S prototype vehicle uses a host of Sony’s intelligent camera sensors to react in real-time to its surroundings and maneuver itself accordingly. The latest version of VISION-S prototype vehicle leverages what the company calls Active Video Image Creation technology, which essentially uses some of the AI-based intelligence built into Sony’s latest image sensors to help fill in the gaps of missing data in a scene, thereby helping to improve the safety of the vehicle’s operation. In addition, new technology based on these sensors allows for lip-reading capabilities, making voice-based commands in the often-noisy environment of a moving automobile—or a factory for that matter—significantly more accurate and effective. Beyond the sensors, Sony has also been doing a great deal of behind-the-scenes software work on the system’s autonomous system, as well as the car UI, battery management, and more. All told, it’s yet another—though very different—example of the company’s 3 R’s principles being brought to life. To be clear, Sony hasn’t committed yet to building the VISION-S as a production car, but its efforts here highlight how the company is dramatically expanding both the range of experiences it wants to enable, as well as the range of applications to which its core sensing technologies can be applied.

CONCLUSION

Sony offers a significantly wider and deeper array of core technologies now than it ever has before. The company also has a great deal more involvement in creating shared experiences between people than most acknowledge. To put it succinctly, this is not your father’s Sony. The pandemic has provided the company with an incentive to rethink how some of its technologies can be applied to a wider range of applications. In particular, the ability to enable content creators to work remotely is providing new levels of flexibility and creative freedom. Similarly, it’s allowing consumers to enjoy powerful, engaging content in new ways, even if their ability to interact with others in person remains limited.

Beyond just content, however, these core technologies and the fundamental Reality, Real-Time and Remote principles driving their use have many potential applications in other fields as well. From automotive to remote visual monitoring and beyond, the potential exists for entirely new types of product categories that haven’t even been envisioned yet, as a result of these critical sensor-based technologies. Finally, the pandemic has driven home the importance of shared experiences and the need to tie communities of people together. This need to connect in a meaningful way is at the heart of the creative process and has arguably been a key driving principle in Sony’s efforts for a very long time. The company wants to provide the most realistic, most captivating, and most authentic way to bridge the gap between creators and consumers, and it is doing so by leveraging compelling technologies that are created exactly for this purpose. Strong, vibrant communities built around shared interests give us all hope and remind us of the indelible bonds we share as human beings. As a result of our shared experience of the pandemic, it has never been clearer how much we all long for contacts with other people. It has also never been clearer as to just how much innovative technologies can help enable those connections.

This report was commissioned by Sony Electronics, North America, a field service marketing organization affiliated with Sony Corporation (Japan). Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Sony Electronics creates category-leading products that innovate and inspire generations, including the award-winning Alpha series cameras, high-resolution audio solutions, 4K and 8K Ultra HD TVs, and coding and robotics offerings like aibo and the STEAM education-focused KOOV. Sony firmly believes that Social Justice and Corporate Social Responsibility are good for both society and business, and invests time and resources to support a variety of impactful activities, programming and organizations, from Alpha Female to Boys and Girls Clubs of America and more. Visit http://www.sony.com for more information.