With news surrounding next-gen hardware now in full-throttle, many fans are wandering what’s next for the future of VR. While we’ve already seen a few new patents and details regarding what Sony may be cooking up for the next iteration of the PSVR brand, one more patent has popped up which gives more details on a vital feature for the hardware.
The new patent appeared earlier this passed week and suggests that the new headset will include tech that notifies headset wearers of various real-life hazards and audio sensory. What’s interesting is the new patent details what seems to be a new camera located on the outside of the headset which would not only warn players of environmental hazards, but also pick up on various audio elements, such as another person’s voice.
The patent goes on to describe these instances and suggests that the new hardware would allow players to utilize the outside camera to pick up and portray any real-life disturbances – after pausing the game, of course – foregoing the need to lift the headset off their face entirely. Check out a snippet form the patent below:
“A method, comprising: presenting gameplay of a video game through a head-mounted display, the head-mounted display being disposed in a local environment; detecting a person speaking in the local environment, wherein detecting the person speaking includes capturing audio from the local environment by the head-mounted display, and analyzing the captured audio to identify the person speaking in the local environment; responsive to detecting the person speaking in the local environment, presenting a notification through the head-mounted display, the notification providing an option to pause the gameplay of the video game; responsive to receiving a command indicating selection of the option, pausing the gameplay of the video game and presenting through the head-mounted display a view provided through an externally facing camera of the head-mounted display that enables viewing of the person speaking in the local environment.”
Sony has also filed various patents for a wireless VR headset model, high-powered next-gen VR tech and an interesting “posture control gyroscope”. While this new patent may not be as nearly as exciting as a full-rotating chair to coincide with your VR experience, it does seem to negate potential interference’s to allow a more immersive, and less dangerous, experience.
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Source: Inverse
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Which was showcased at E3 2003.