News

Sony Files Patent For PS3 Laughter Detection

4:00AM August 17, 2009 | Owen Good

Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a patent a couple months back, for a system using coffee mugs to play a video game. Now they’ve filed one to make your laughter into a controller.

I direct you to figure 17: “Ha Ha Ha.” This is part of the metadata set going into the PS3, through a microphone and the PlayStation Eye camera. The patent application says it would identify body gestures, facial expressions and the like to deduce the emotion of the players. It’s apparently got high-five recognition heuristics, too.

Laughter and boo-yah aren’t the only states of emotion it’ll be able to recognise. It’s also attuned to sadness, anger, joy, interest and yes, boredom. That one can be detected by the number of hours your PS3 sits deactivated.

Also, note how the diagram filed goes out of its way to show the TV’s a Sony Bravia.

SCEA Experimenting With “Laugh Detecting”, Emotional Tracking Software [Siliconera via Joystiq]


Comments

  • Dr_Stef

    August 17, 2009 at 8:08 AM

    heheheheheheh

  • warcroft

    August 17, 2009 at 8:29 AM

    How fucking stupid!

  • Olly

    August 17, 2009 at 8:41 AM

    And I direct you to figure 21. Exactly what kind of “crazy invention” is that?
    They could have just put a lolcat, but decided to haunt my dreams forever.
    Thank you Sony.

    • Matfei

      August 17, 2009 at 9:41 AM

      Looks like some kind of odd sexual device to me, hehe.

      • mark

        August 17, 2009 at 10:16 AM

        Thats what I thought… looks like some kind of perverted sexual device!

        Thats just wrong ….

        Also… could this patent be used to block some functionality of Microsofts Natal thingy? It uses camera and mic to detect emotion and so forth right? I know this specifies for use with TV broadcast, but it may still apply to certain area’s…

      • Dean

        August 17, 2009 at 11:28 AM

        Sony are a Japanese company after all…

  • DansDans

    August 17, 2009 at 9:47 AM

    WTF?

  • Scott Vandonkelaar

    August 17, 2009 at 9:47 AM

    Why would it need the Playstation Eye AND a microphone? The Playstation Eye has a microphone built in… I assume it was divided into 2 parts for the sake of the patent and pointing out that it uses both the camera and microphone in order to operate.

    I can see them wanting to tie this technology into the TV Tuner when ever it finally gets released. Looks like a great tool for automated market research.

  • Dean

    August 17, 2009 at 9:49 AM

    So this is a way for TV executives to determine how their audience is responding to programs? Call me paranoid, but I don’t leave my PS3 on while I’m watching TV anyway – and this is just all the more reason not to!

    Also, if I invent a similar apparatus, but I DON’T use a Sony® Bravia® TV, does that mean I’m not actually violating this patent?

  • Stinky

    August 17, 2009 at 12:56 PM

    Butthurt, the game?

  • AJ Lazaro

    August 17, 2009 at 10:07 PM

    Don’t laugh high school look for it on youtube, funniest Japanese game show, hope they make that inro a game.

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