Silicon Era uncovers a patent, filed by Sony, for using everyday objects as game controllers.
Sony details a system where a camera can dynamically map an object — any real world object — for use in a video game. The illustration has a U shape block, but the patent outlines other example objects “include items such as coffee mugs, drinking glasses, books, bottles, etc.” While these are given as examples the object mapping system is not limited to those objects, it can identify any three dimensional object.
Sony Patents A Motion Control System That Uses Ordinary Objects As Controllers [Silicon Era]
Apparatus and method for looking like a total putz…
101 – Pathetic geek living in parents’ basement
110 – Geek’s hand in death grip around atrophied weenie
If Sony isn’t patenting wang tracking, then that is a poor diagram. If they are, then AWESOME!
102 – Impossible Trident
104a – Galaga-style tractor beam – FIGHTER CAPTURED
108 – Self-aware Roomba
these vague patents that don’t have any hardware or software details need stopping,
Should I trawl through every SF novel of the last 50 years looking for ideas with new patents
If a patent supplies details of the devices to ensure the viability of the application all is good but if it is just some silly drawings there should be refused as a matter of course
Is sony running scared from Natal? It would seem so.
What’s the actual patent number… in fact any detail such as filing date or inventor would be useful.
Does Sony just not mind about stuff like this being leaked? Or is it public domain? First is was the PSP Go, then the PS3 slim, then a process for playing PS2 games using the existing chip, and now this! Industrial spy or extreme idiocy?
Patent filings are public domain.
i.e. the USPTO publishes them at its website, etc.
FCC filings are a little more interesting, because they concern imminent products and the filer is allowed to omit trade secrets not related to the radio operations. The Vaio P’s buzz got a nice bump from an FCC filing, for example, as it gave us dimensions but not much more.
So then does this patent beat Microsoft’s new body tracking stuff? Or is Microsoft only patent infringing when a user picks something up.
1) Patent the process of submitting stupid ideas to the patent office.
2) Sue everybody.
3) Profit!!
Patents like this just scream “use prior art to bust me!!” at the top of their lungs.
There was an MIT project using machine vision to track ping pong balls on the PDP 11 – attempting to allow someone to play a real game of ping pong against a robot arm! It was only vagely successful, and once involved the robot arm smacking a bald professor upside the head. But it seems to me that’s prior art dating back to the 70′s.
Cam Trax are going to sue them. http://www.camspace.com/