Yamaha Sony SC-1 autonomous vehicle has no windows

There's seating for up to five people within the SC-1 Sociable Cart, which is 3135mm long, 1306mm wide and 1830mm tall. Powered by a DC motor, the SC-1 has a top speed of 19km/h.

The vehicle features exterior cameras, LiDAR, and ultrasonic sensors, as well as double wishbone suspension up front, four-wheel disc brakes, and a lithium-polymer battery pack.

The windowless vehicle instead features one 49-inch 4K monitor in its cabin. It also has four 55-inch 4K screens mounted to its exterior.

With the help of its array of external cameras the SC-1 Sociable Cart can play video and route guidance in a mixed reality format on its internal and external screens.

More ominously it can also use artificial intelligence and its sensor array to determine the age and gender of people inside and outside the vehicle in order to customise advertising, entertainment and news displays.

According to the two companies they plan to "launch Japanese domestic services using this model" during the 2019 financial year, which runs until the end of March 2020.

Sony and Yamaha state the SC-1 Sociable Cart has developed exclusively for the "purpose of providing a new mobility experience", and will not be offered for sale.

No word yet where and how the SC-1 will be employed, but earlier prototypes were used to provide night-time rides around a resort's golf course in Okinawa.