Way back at E3 2009, Nintendo announced the Wii Vitality Sensor, an accessory players would clip on their fingers to feed biometric data (specifically the blood-oxygen saturation level of your index finger) into a video game. Plans for the Vitality Sensor have been put on ice since the device has difficulty performing with consistent results.
Perhaps, Sony will get the jump on biometric controls? A patent application reveals their possible plans for a biometric controller and handheld with specifications similar to the upcoming PlayStation Vita.
The patent also has design schematics for a biometric DualShock3 controller and PlayStation Move style wand.
Sony’s proposed devices will measure three biometric factors: galvanic skin resistance, electrocardio data, and electro-muscular data or in plain English – how moist your skin is, your heart rhythm, and muscle movements. All of this information will be sent into a video game by simply holding a controller or handheld. How are games going to use this? Sony has a list of ideas.
- Weapons that change depending on how stressed you are. An increase in stress level could make a weapon more accurate or less steady, which will make it difficult to target an enemy. Sony specifically mentions a sniper situation where the weapon becomes more steady if you’re relaxed.
- Tensing up your muscles to withstand an attack or charge up a shield.
- A video game character whose facial expressions, movements, posture, and even voice changes depending on your biometric data. For example, this character will sweat when a player is nervous.
- An adrenaline style boost which will let you run faster, jump higher, and punch harder when stressed.
- A health bar that depletes more rapidly if you have a high stress level.
- An attack button that changes a character’s move depending if the player is stressed or relaxed.
- Background music and scenery that changes depending on your stress level. Matching music is one example, but Sony also proposes to change music to make a player more relaxed. Brightness of objects and the zoom level, representing a higher level of focus, are two ideas for scenery.
- A game that adapts difficulty levels depending on a players stress level.
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/11/01/sony-patent-reveals-biometric-ps3-controller-and-handheld/
A few of the ideas given sound quite nice, like improved accuracy in a shooter if the player is relaxed. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out of this, since Nintendo's Wii Vitality Sensor produced nothing.
