SCEA files motion sensing patent (PS Eye related ?)

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patsu

Legend
Link to patent

Game interface tracks the position of one or more game controllers in 3-dimensional space using hybrid video capture and ultrasonic tracking system. The captured video information is used to identify a horizontal and vertical position for each controller within a capture area. The ultrasonic tracking system analyzes sound communications to determine the distances between the game system and each controller and to determine the distances among the controllers. The distances are then analyzed by the game interface to calculate the depths within the capture area for each controller.
Click to expand...
 
Hopefully we will see something that is used more often and works much better than the current motion sensors.
 
I think they'll need to make it way more Lifestyle-stylish if they want wide adoption. This looks plain stupid!
 
Ha ha... yes it looks vulgar or stupid.

They probably needed an all-inclusive controller concept to claim everything related to motion sensing in the patent filing. In actual rollout, the product would be streamlined. Or it may have other innovations added on to solve the cosmetic, UI, and multi-use issues.
 
.. or Golf swing. ;-) If it comes down to Soccer-level movement, I'd rather try Ken-do, Boxing, Baseball (swing) and Tennis. They have all been attempted before with varying degree of success.

How big do the ultra-sonic emitters need to be ? If they are regular RFID tag size, the technology may be useful in training too (beyond ridiculous lab tests :))
 
I don't care how it looks though (and I don't mind how it looks now), as long as it really works well! And it's looking good so far, except maybe for being able to be produced cheaply. I guess the PS Eye could help, but it could also be a handicap - there would definitely be advantages in including it in this setup, but if they can make it work without, that would be preferable I think. But that might not be possible.

Anyway, if it works as advertised, awesome. It's all about the games though! They'll have to think of some quick LBP like toolkit to make a lot of cool games.
 
Well, the infra-red Desktop VR approach here already convinced me that it's possible to track the players' perspectives with some cheap enhancements to the PS Eye.

The ultra-sonic enhancement will allow the PS3 to place the players' limbs precisely in a 3D space. To me, this is the key addition.

The split scheme bridges compatibility with the current controller. It might be a better idea to have a different controller altogether if it becomes so unwieldy.
 
This one seems too detailed and thought-out to be a one-off-idea patent, however it has to be cheap enough with PS Eye required. Can the current PS Eye receive ultrasonic sound?
 
Regards appearance, even if some people are happy with any look as long as it's functional, the masses aren't. Stupid looking products don't tend to sell well, and without mainstream adoption this system would fail. Aesthetics aren't just an optional nicety. Looks to me like the ball end is sized for ease of optical detection.

Regards the audio component, they'd better use 'real' ultrasonic rather than 'theoretical' ultrasonic. I know too many people, me included, who hear high-pitched whines that scientists tell them they're not supposed to hear (not to be confused with the voices that Men of Science say I'm not supposed to hear, and I certainly shouldn't listen too... :p).
 
The patent diagrams are drawn by engineers, not industrial designers. They will bear no resemblance to the final product (assuming one is coming).
 
I think that's just a place holder for what the real controls would look like. I wouldn't worry about it looking like that when it was released. Remember the Batarang PS3 controller?

Edit - Damn, I was already beaten by patsu.
 
Heh, except that in the Batarang case, I was hoping they released it. The DualShock 3 returned anyway.

EDIT:
Shifty Geezer said:
Regards the audio component, they'd better use 'real' ultrasonic rather than 'theoretical' ultrasonic. I know too many people, me included, who hear high-pitched whines that scientists tell them they're not supposed to hear (not to be confused with the voices that Men of Science say I'm not supposed to hear, and I certainly shouldn't listen too... :p).
Click to expand...

I tried to search for more info on Sony's ultrasonic R&D. My main concerns are cost and noise/interference.

For cost, I found Lego NXT's ultrasonic sensor here (About $50 for a low powered, low volume variant):
http://mindstorms.lego.com/overview/Ultrasonic_Sensor.aspx (You can see the ultrasonic sensor in action here: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=6dTpdMQ8BcY)
[EDIT 2: Sony's controller is supposed to use only ultrasonic emitters rather than sensor + emitter combo. The former should be cheaper]

Can't find anything about noise yet. But I found this Sony ultrasound patent that seems to come from Star Trek:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624944.600

The technique suggested in the patent is entirely non-invasive. It describes a device that fires pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify firing patterns in targeted parts of the brain, creating "sensory experiences" ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds. This could give blind or deaf people the chance to see or hear, the patent claims.

While brain implants are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the only non-invasive ways of manipulating the brain remain crude. A technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation can activate nerves by using rapidly changing magnetic fields to induce currents in brain tissue. However, magnetic fields cannot be finely focused on small groups of brain cells, whereas ultrasound could be.
Click to expand...

I will probably not see this invention in my lifetime. ^_^
 
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