Yamaha and Sony to jointly develop autonomous entertainment vehicle

Yamaha Motor Co is to commence services from November 1, 2019 using the SC-1 entertainment vehicle, a 'sociable' cart jointly developed with Sony Corporation. The first services will start at the Kanucha Bay Resort (Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture) and at the Southeast Botanical Gardens (Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture).

Along with images of the immediate surroundings captured by cameras, the SC-1 can project a range of video and mixed reality (MR) images which suit its current location onto the high-resolution displays installed on the vehicle interior and exterior. Yamaha says, this “creates an entertainment space unmatched by any traditional vehicle, aiming to provide a more enjoyable low-speed mobility value to occupants and people nearby.”

With the autonomous driving function, the ‘Moonlight Cruise’ service experience on the SC-1 enables passengers to enjoy entertainment content created by mixed reality (MR) technology based on night driving scenes projected by ultra-sensitive image sensors and high-resolution displays without having to control the vehicle.
In the future, both companies plan to expand similar services to amusement and/or commercial facilities in order to provide new mobile experiences to customers.