Sony Patents Tip Redesigned PlayStation VR Controller

We're still early in the lifecycle of (modern) virtual reality hardware, which means development is ongoing behind the scenes to make the headsets, peripherals, and hardware required to power information technology more VR friendly. Sony is one of the companies hard at piece of work on virtual reality, and it looks as though its hardware department is set to give united states a much-improved controller for PlayStation VR.

Two Sony patents take been discovered by VR Focus which detail the new controller. It looks to be a modified version of the PlayStation Move, but with some very welcome additions. Get-go upwardly is an analog stick on the top for your thumb to naturally rest on and utilize. Around the stick are positioned a number of buttons, also in easy reach of your thumb, and a trigger on the back for your index finger to interact with.

You may remember the wrist straps Nintendo made available to cease your throwing the Wiimote at the TV. Well, it seems Sony is also adopting a strap, simply this ane sits on the side of the controller and wraps around the back of your fingers for a more secure grip.

The second patent describes a system whereby the VR headset is capable of tracking the controller and finger placement will also exist tracked. If this feature was added to a controller, information technology would mean all 4 fingers and your pollex could be detected as interacting with the buttons or grip and functionality implemented on a per game footing that reacts to how yous are gripping the controller.

The existing PlayStation Move controller is available in ii versions, with the more common one having an orb that can lite up using a full range of colors. Motion is tracked using a number of different sensors including a three-axis linear accelerometer, three-axis athwart charge per unit sensor, and two inertial sensors. There'due south also vibration-based haptic feedback, a number of face buttons on the front end and side, and an analog trigger on the back.

For at present, these are merely patents, but clearly Sony is thinking about what comes next for its PlayStation VR platform. Of the three major console manufacturers information technology already has a big VR atomic number 82 with only Microsoft looking like a time to come challenger if it decides to link mixed reality headsets with Xbox gaming.