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.

At Mobile World Congress on Monday, Sony unveiled a trio of smartphones as part of its new X series, which focus on the core smartphone features customers are most concerned about: camera, battery life and design. After the announcement, Jun Makino, senior product manager at Sony Mobile, told International Business Times that the next 12 months will be crucial for the company's smartphone division. "[In] 2016, we obviously need to deliver profit, and that is something the company is committed to," Makino says. Key to that success could be a range of new accessories, like the just-announced Xperia Ear, which promises an always-on, voice-activated digital assistant in your ear. Sony has confirmed it is working on a smartphone VR headset that will take on Samsung's Gear VR market-leading device.

You've probably noticed something about smartphones. They haven't been exciting lately. Chances are, your current smartphone looks and works a lot like your last one. Your next will probably seem pretty familiar, too. But there are signs that smartphones, and the ways we use them, could be about to significantly change -- even if no one can quite agree on exactly how.

"You look creepy, imagine going out with that in," a colleague remarked to me. It was a great start to my week wearing Sony's Xperia Ear device, a tiny headset that sits in your ear and connects wirelessly to a smartphone. The Xperia Ear contains a smart voice assistant inside it that can carry out tasks such as texting a person or telling you what's on your schedule for the day. A user has to tap the earpiece and then just speak. In fairness, it was great at picking up my voice the first time and getting things right, which isn't always the case with other voice assistants. But once it recognized the voice, it took a long time to process it and give a response.

In theory, Sony's newest wearable sounds promising. The Xperia Ear is a single Bluetooth earbud that lets you dictate messages, get weather updates, smartphone notifications and carry out other little tasks just by talking to it. Sony also promises a long-lasting battery that can endure a full workday of talk time with the included charging case, so you can have the assistant ready for your commands all day. Unfortunately, the Xperia Ear simply doesn't do enough to justify its $200 asking price. Sony's Xperia Ear is an intriguing device -- in theory. It's a single Bluetooth earpiece with a built-in assistant that's always ready for your voice commands, and will recite your smartphone notifications as they arrive.

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.

While Sony is currently one of the leading producers of smartphones, cameras and home entertainment systems, the company may soon be heading into the realm of robotics and AI. On Thursday, Kazuo Hirai, CEO of the Tokyo-based company, took to the stage at the IFA electronics show in Berlin to discuss the firm's newest products. He said that Sony was keen to explore new areas of technology, and that artificial intelligence and robotics were part of that. Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony said that the company was keen to explore new areas of technology, and that artificial intelligence and robotics were part of that. Sony's plans to get back into consumer robotics include efforts to produce a machine capable of'forming an emotional bond' with users.