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SonyPatent applicationCars & transportInterest 8/10

Sony patents cars that project messages onto the road to talk to drivers

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Sony describes a system where a vehicle projects images or text directly onto the pavement ahead of it. The car uses its driving plan and data about the road surface to decide what to show, allowing it to send clear signals to other drivers or pedestrians.

Why it mattersThis could make driving safer by giving cars a way to clearly explain their intentions, like turning or stopping, to people around them without relying only on lights or horns.

In the filing’s own words

The present technology relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a road projection system that establish more reliable communication with surrounding traffic participants. According to a driving plan for a mobile body and road surface condition information indicating conditions of a road surface on which the mobile body is driving, a projection control section controls output of projection information that is projected from the mobile body onto the road surface to establish communication with others. The present technology is applicable, for example, to vehicles that perform road projection.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a projection control section that, according to a driving plan for a mobile body and road surface condition information indicating conditions of a road surface on which the mobile body is driving, controls output of projection information that is projected from the mobile body onto the road surface to establish communication with others.

Facts

Company
Sony (SONY GROUP CORPORATION)
Official title
INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND ROAD PROJECTION SYSTEM
Publication number
US20260307583A1
Application number
18996778
Filed
Jul 21, 2023
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
6
Claims
16

Classified under

B60Q 1/547 Operations & transportB60Q 1/507 Operations & transportB60Q 1/543 Operations & transportB60Q 2400/50 Operations & transport
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.