When it comes to AI, Sony isn't mentioned in the conversation like Google, Amazon and Apple are. However, let's remember that it was on the forefront of deep learning with products like the Aibo robot dog, and has used it recently in the Echo-like Xperia Agent (above) and Xperia Ear. Sony is finally ready to share its AI technology with developers and engineers to incorporate them into their products and services, it has revealed. Sony joins its rivals Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others in making its AI open source. On one hand, it will help developers build smarts into products, and on the other, Sony is hoping that developers will "further build on the core libraries' programs," it writes.

Sony is looking at taking the Xperia brand beyond smartphones and is showing off some prototype gadgets at the IFA trade show in Berlin. It was keen to underline that not all of them might make it to manufacturing, but those on display were fully working prototypes with hardware and software stable enough that the company let a reporter test them out. This is an Android-based computer with a short-throw projector in a single box. The projector sends the screen image onto a nearby tabletop or wall and users can interact with it by using their fingers on the projected image. An infrared sensor in the device watches the fingers and figures out where they are pressing on the projected screen.

Sony has revealed its'smart personal assistant' that include a bluetooth earpiece similar to the AI version worn in the hit film Her will go on sale in November. At the IFA show in Berlin today, the firm confirmed it will launch this November'starting in select markets,' although its price has still not been revealed. The Xperia Ear wireless earpiece can update you with any missed calls or messages as soon as you slot it into your ear. Unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, the Xperia Ear (pictured) can read out key information, and is designed to be worn all day. The firm also showed off a Xperia Agent, a robot measuring just over one foot tall, that also works as a PA.