Sony Electronics Announces Future Lab Program(TM) N will Start in the U.S. with the Recruitment of Open Innovation Program Participants

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Sep 01, 2016, 11:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Future Lab Program, targeting the first concept prototype N, will kick off in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area communities, with the recruitment of participants for the program.

Future Lab Program N will start in the U.S., and will begin recruitment of program participants on Thursday, September 1, 2016.

The Future Lab N Program fee will be $100 USD.

Applicants can sign-up for this program on the event site after they've experienced the prototypes which will be on an invite-only basis. An invitation to the event will be sent to applicants who agree to Future Lab Program N's terms and conditions and have applied beforehand.

Participants will be asked to use the concept prototype throughout the program period, and their feedback collected from questionnaires, interviews, and meet-up events will be used for further development for research and development.

For detailed information, please go to the "Future Lab Program N" Website: http://www.futurelab.sony.net/N/

About Future Lab Program N:

Sony's new "Future Lab Program" aims to give the world a glimpse into its technology from R&D in the form of core concept prototypes, in the hope of co-creating future lifestyles and user value. Concept prototype "N" represents a new, unencumbered way to experience audio, with a hands-free and open-ear style interactive interface for accessing music and audio information. It was unveiled for the first time ever in March, at SXSW Interactive 2016.

Selected users who support the mission of the Future Lab Program, as well as the experience that we are attempting to deliver with the concept prototype N, will be chosen to participate in Future Lab Program N. Participants will be asked to use the concept prototype throughout the program period, and their feedback collected from questionnaires, interviews, and meet-up events will be used for further development from research and development.

About Concept Prototype N:

The Concept Prototype N contains the following elements which are currently under development:

1. Neckband-style wearable device

The neckband is equipped with open speakers and responds to voice prompts, making it a new breed of a wearable device that requires no earpiece and realizes a fully hands-free operation.

2. Open-ear earphones

This device is an entirely new breed of earphones: an open-ear type.

3. Personalized radio service

This service leverages the behavior recognition technology equipped in the Concept Prototype N in order to provide the user with timely audio information based on the user's surroundings or location, or in response to a voice command.

About the Future Lab Program

The Future Lab Program from Sony is a new kind of research and development initiative that embraces an approach to technological research and development emphasizing an open creative environment and direct lines of communication with society. Through this approach, it aims to co-create new future lifestyles and user value. As part of this approach, the program will share concept prototypes with users while still at the development stage, and look to them for inspiration, leveraging their feedback to refine and evolve its projects.

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