The newest product disclosed by Sony Corp. isn’t a gadget for consumers but an imaging sensor to be sold to car makers.

We reported this month that Japanese industrial profits are driven nowadays in good measure by companies making materials, parts and industrial products rather than consumer goods.

A case in point is the sensor for car-mounted cameras that Sony announced on Thursday. Auto makers are increasingly putting cameras on cars to assist with parking and safe driving, and sensors will be critical to efforts to create fully self-driving cars.

“This is our first sensor exclusive to cars, and we have decided to tap into the segment because we see the market as having great growth potential,” a Sony spokeswoman said.

The sensors will be available starting in December 2015 and will enable better visibility in the dark, Sony said. The company already sells cameras to car makers, but those use general-purpose sensors rather than ones tailored for auto use.

The sensor business is a star player for the electronics company. Sony sensors are found in many smartphones including Apple Inc.’s iPhone models, according to analysts, as well as Sony’s own Xperia devices. During the three-month period ended in June, the sensor segment recorded an operating profit of ¥17.4 billion ($164 million), up 91% from the same period a year earlier.

A Sony sensor for digital cameras.—Bloomberg NewsChief executive Kazuo Hirai has described sensors as one of Sony’s three key areas along with the game business–which is also profitable–and mobile devices, a more troubled part of the company and the cause of recent losses.

New Silicon Valley players such as Google Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc. are bringing innovation to  automobiles, and many Japanese companies are trying to join the game. Panasonic Corp., which supplies batteries to Tesla, has described its car-parts business as a leading growth driver, while Sharp Corp. gave its car-camera systems prominent space at a recent electronics trade show in Japan.

Analysts say that while Sony is late to the car-sensor party, it still has a good shot at becoming a major player.

By: DocMemory
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