Audio Video News

Dismissing the notion of product development shrouded in secrecy in an isolated corner of a remote R&D lab, Sony’s new Future Lab Program plans to share early prototypes to get real-world feedback on what’s good and not so good about work-in-progress technology.

“The Future Lab Program embraces an approach to technological research and development that emphasizes an open creative environment and direct lines of communication with society, through which it aims to co-create new lifestyles and user value in the future,” according to the press release Sony issued in Tokyo today.

The program aims to share concept prototypes with users and “look to them for inspiration, leveraging their feedback to refine and evolve its projects.”

The website for Future Lab Program offers a little more on the vision behind the initiative:

Technology has the power to shape ideas into reality and open the door to new, unseen futures. An exciting future awaits with unbridled curiosity. Throw away conventional wisdom when incorporating cutting-edge technology. Change the future.

The Future Lab Program is where Sony shares concept prototypes in development at Sony R&D with users for opportunities to co-create future lifestyles.

Sony plans to unveil a number of concept prototypes and technologies at the upcoming SXSW Interactive Festival, including the lab’s first project, known simply as "N." Sony isn’t saying much about the project except that it will feature a “hands-free user interface that creates a new way of experiencing audio such as music and sound, allowing the user to receive audio information without having to insert any object into his or her ear.”

For updates on how the program is progressing, keep an eye on FutureLab.Sony.net , Facebook, and Twitter following the lab’s coming out party at SXSW, which opens March 12 in Austin, Texas.

Watch the Future Lab’s concept movie:

Watch the teaser movie for the Future Lab’s Program N: