A visitor wearing a Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. PlayStation VR headset plays the Resident Evil 7 Biohazard video game in the Capcom Co. booth at the Tokyo Game Show 2016 on September 15, 2016 in Chiba, Japan. (Photo : Getty Images/Tomohiro Ohsumi)
The Virtual Reality game is getting another competition after Sony filed its latest patent for a potential tracking system for its PlayStation VR headset. In the said filing, the tracker should work similarly to HTC's own Vive headset, but is expected to be equipped with a wireless link.
According to Engadget, Sony is preparing its own VR tracking device for its PlayStation console. In the company's patent application, the tracker device will function as an external projector, which will utilize lights and mirrors to track player's real world movements, then project those motions into the PSVR.
As seen through the filing, Sony's new brand of tracking device will potentially provide a more accurate and immersive PSVR experience against the old tracking system, which according to players experience light interferences that hamper the VR experience.
On another note, the schematics filed by Sony suggested multiple references to wireless links between the PS4, projectors and the PSVR itself, CGM reported. Based on this model, the tracking device could be picked up via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, radio frequency or other methods. Although the filing did not further reveal the possibility of untethered tracking, reports suggest that Sony may be working on a wireless version of PSVR.
In the documentation, Sony determined the function of the tracking device, which is "a method for determining an orientation of a photosensor of a controller with respect to a projector is described. The method includes generating, by a beam generator of the projector, a beam. The method further includes modifying a direction of travel of the beam using a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror that moves in a pattern, deflecting the beam, calculating a time at which the beam is detected and determining based on the pattern and the time an orientation of the beam to determine the orientation of the photosensor."
Although the patent does not assure a concrete possibility of seeing the technology in the future, Sony may invest in making a more immersive PSVR experience.Owing to the PC-powered HTC Vive offering a wireless VR future through third-party peripherals, the PSVR tracking device could earn itself a wireless version.
