We know about the EyeToy. We’ve seen that motion controller Sony showed at E3. But there is another motion controller Sony has been working on.
This new patent filing reveals a Sony motion controller that uses a mapping system to incorporate everyday objects such as “coffee mugs, drinking glasses, books, bottles, etc.” as a motion controller. In the drawing, those everyday objects are illustrated by that horseshoe-looking U in the man’s hand.
Basically, this tech appears to allow players to use a variety of real world items in gameplay.
To map the object, players show it to the camera and rotate it so that the object is captured and saved as a file. The system can then identify this object and respond to its movements.
The manner in which the object is held can affect game play. For example, in the illustration below, the object is held “up” which reveals the lightsaber-like sword. Holding the object down turns the sword “off”.
Sony Patents A Motion Control System That Uses Ordinary Objects As Controllers [Siliconera]
Volv
July 3, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Isn’t this what Microsoft is doing with Natal? They showed a skateboard being scanned in during their project vision video.
Report PermalinkSavin Wangtal
July 3, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Except MS shows it as an idea. Sony actually patented a technology to execute it in real life–and patents don’t get handed out unless the tech works (or is at least sound).
Report PermalinkDeviantBone
July 3, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Ya huh?
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/02/ibm_patents_bionic_armour_that_gives_humans_ability_to_dodge_bullets-2/
Oh whoops, there goes your validity.
Report PermalinkGoraxium
July 3, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Mmm… Body armour that’d snap you in half if somebody fired a bullet… Who wouldn’t want that? Anything with a skeleton (internal or external) would be horribly mangled by something like this if a machine gun was fired… Unless they patent something to remove a person’s bones while finding some other means of keeping them alive (bones = marrow = blood) to go along with the bionic armour…
Report PermalinkDave Peacock
July 4, 2009 at 5:22 AM
Except what Microsoft showed with the scateboard was a mock up of what they hope it might be able to do, also all it actually did was copy the pattern… so i think you were another one dazzled by the flashing lights of the natal presentation and not actually disected what was shown….
regardless of that have you not seen the eyepet video from August 08 at Liepzig…. natal looks like a rip off of that.
Report PermalinkNicholas
July 3, 2009 at 7:25 PM
Cool. Want.
Report Permalinknicholas
July 4, 2009 at 8:01 AM
now i can spill coffee everywhere!
Report Permalinkgood idea
the big gamer
August 17, 2009 at 6:28 PM
ooooh cool thing….
but i think microsoft would not be silent about this … both of them use cameras.. so i think it is easy to make it track and recognize more things. the real one which would be put under the test is the wii. because their technology don’t use camera. will they incorporate a camera into their system?
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