Sony: Continuously increasing research and development investment in China, focusing on the entertainment (metaverse) field in the short to medium term

On May 24th, at the pre exhibition media conference of Sony Expo 2023, Vice President of Sony (China) Co., Ltd, Sony China Research Institute's mission is to contribute to Sony's business and social development in China by exploring and applying front-end technologies

On May 24th, at the pre exhibition media conference of Sony Expo 2023, Vice President of Sony (China) Co., Ltd, Sony China Research Institute's mission is to contribute to Sony's business and social development in China by exploring and applying front-end technologies. We established our first laboratory in Beijing in 2005, and in recent years, we have also established laboratories in Shenzhen and Shanghai, continuously increasing research and development investment in China

He mentioned that China is a market with rapid development and unlimited possibilities, and there are many talents. Doing research and development in China can be closer to the actual needs of the local people, and speed up the proof of concept of research and development achievements, so as to promote the actual implementation. In the short to medium term, we will particularly focus on the entertainment (metaverse) field in China. We look forward to using Sony's front-end technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), communication, sensing, robotics, and 3D content production, combined with Sony's rich entertainment content such as film and television, music, animation, and games, to create more 'close to people, touching' entertainment content creation and appreciation solutions

The Sony Expo 2023 booth of Sony China Research Institute is equipped with a "virtual dance laboratory" experience area. Visitors can first enter the green screen shooting area to take photos of their real three-dimensional images, then wear Sony's lightweight motion capture equipment, simply dance with the RAYNOS chan cartoon characters on Sony's large screen TV, record their own motion data, and after being generated and processed by Sony's system, Finally, you can enjoy your 3D image dancing in 3D space with your naked eye on Sony's space reality display screen.

It is reported that this technology has started a proof of concept experiment in Sony's first black color crystal virtual production studio in China, which is expected to help content creators and even ordinary users create virtual 3D content in a more lightweight and accessible way, breaking the boundaries between real and virtual.

The "Intelligent Mechanical Photography Room" experience area allows visitors to get up close to the game protagonist YoRHaNo.2TypeB in a scene created by Sony's virtual production technology for the game "Neil: Mechanical Era". Visitors can choose their favorite game level background, and the shooting robot can automatically track and record the images of visitors and Yulha, and download and receive electronic photos for free as a souvenir. The shooting robot can intelligently complete tracking, focusing, composition, and shooting functions, providing stable shooting quality and greatly saving manpower. In the future, Sony China Research Institute will further add a small and medium-sized screen background that can be moved in real time to the proof of concept to create a more lightweight, small space realizable virtual production solution.

The "Immersive Tactile Theater" experience area is equipped with Sony's tactile feedback technology on the floor, allowing visitors to resonate with the song at the same frequency and experience the climax and undulation of the concert through the vibration effects of different waveforms, achieving a 360 degree immersive entertainment experience that integrates audio, video, and touch. At present, tactile feedback technology has been applied to the DualSense handle of Sony's PlayStation 5 game console and some models of Sony Xperia smartphones. Sony China Research Institute's application development of this technology is mainly aimed at industry application levels, especially in large-scale entertainment and experiential facilities, providing immersive entertainment solutions for large spaces. It has now been in cooperation negotiations with some domestic partners.