By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Joy-Con IR camera has another use?

 

Is the IR camera being used for inside out tracking?

Yes, and it's a very clever way to use it. 14 58.33%
 
No, it's just a gimmick for something else. 10 41.67%
 
Total:24
SonytendoAmiibo on 12 February 2017

 

If you look at the right Joy-Con with its down facing IR camera you would wonder, why put it there?

Because I suspect the IR camera is also being used for something called "inside out tracking" which keeps the Joy-Cons from drifting to the left or right when using motion controls.

The Wii and Wii U had a sensor bar to help keep the wiimotes from drifting, but the Switch doesn't have that.

Even when holding the Joy-Cons for a motion control game like ARMS, your hand doesn't cover up the down facing IR camera. It will see the heat coming from your legs, feet, lap ect. and use that as an anchor point.

Thats my theory anyways. Do you think the IR camera is being used for inside out tracking? 



   

Hey! They got SONY on my amiibo! Wait a minute. Two great gaming tastes that game great together!

Switch FC: SW-0398-8858-1969

Around the Network
ktay95 on 12 February 2017

Or it could be there because good fucking luck putting it on the same side as the R and ZR buttons



Barkley on 12 February 2017
SonytendoAmiibo said:

The Wii and Wii U had a sensor bar to help keep the wiimotes from drifting, but the Switch doesn't have that.

I'm not sure you understand how the Wii Remotes work with the Sensor Bar. The Sensor bar is nothing but an Infra-red Light Source, the IR sensor on the remote detects the angle the IR light is coming from and with that decides where to put your cursor on the screen. The Sensor Bar had zero impact on motion controls, it was for the cursor and that's it. 



SonytendoAmiibo on 12 February 2017
RolStoppable said:
Nope, that's not what it is for. If it was, the left Joy-Con would have an IR camera too, otherwise a game like ARMS would give you inferior controls for your left hand.

But the two Joy-Cons are a matched pair, and communicate with eachother and the Switch tablet. Only one camera is needed to keep the system from drifting.



   

Hey! They got SONY on my amiibo! Wait a minute. Two great gaming tastes that game great together!

Switch FC: SW-0398-8858-1969

SonytendoAmiibo on 12 February 2017
Barkley said:
SonytendoAmiibo said:

The Wii and Wii U had a sensor bar to help keep the wiimotes from drifting, but the Switch doesn't have that.

I'm not sure you understand how the Wii Remotes work with the Sensor Bar. The Sensor bar is nothing but an Infra-red Light Source, the IR sensor on the remote detects the angle the IR light is coming from and with that decides where to put your cursor on the screen. The Sensor Bar had zero impact on motion controls, it was for the cursor and that's it. 

 

And your leg is also a heat source giving off an infrared signature. Unless you are a vampire, in which case you can't play ARMS.

   

Hey! They got SONY on my amiibo! Wait a minute. Two great gaming tastes that game great together!

Switch FC: SW-0398-8858-1969

Around the Network
Barkley on 12 February 2017
SonytendoAmiibo said:
Barkley said:

I'm not sure you understand how the Wii Remotes work with the Sensor Bar. The Sensor bar is nothing but an Infra-red Light Source, the IR sensor on the remote detects the angle the IR light is coming from and with that decides where to put your cursor on the screen. The Sensor Bar had zero impact on motion controls, it was for the cursor and that's it. 

 

And your leg is also a heat source giving off an infrared signature. Unless you are a vampire, in which case you can't play ARMS.

I'm still trying to work out what this "drift" you're talking about is. All tracking for motion controls on the Wii Remote was done via gyroscopes, accelerometers etc.

Like I said before, the sensor bar on wii/wiiu wasn't used to correct any sort of drift.

Your idea is also flawed as you seem to imply that it'd only work while your right joycon was held above certain surface (or your leg). What if you're stood up playing?



TomaTito on 12 February 2017

Big patent came out before Christmas, made a thread about the three possible uses of the IR sensor.
Gesture motion, IR motion and biometric sensor. We haven't seen or heard anything about the last two.
I thought you meant those.



@Twitter | Switch | Steam

You say tomato, I say tomato 

"¡Viva la Ñ!"
SonytendoAmiibo on 12 February 2017
Barkley said:
SonytendoAmiibo said:

 

And your leg is also a heat source giving off an infrared signature. Unless you are a vampire, in which case you can't play ARMS.

I'm still trying to work out what this "drift" you're talking about is. All tracking for motion controls on the Wii Remote was done via gyroscopes, accelerometers etc.

Like I said before, the sensor bar on wii/wiiu wasn't used to correct any sort of drift.

Your idea is also flawed as you seem to imply that it'd only work while your right joycon was held above certain surface (or your leg). What if you're stood up playing?

 

The camera doesn't have to see the anchor point all the time, just once in a while to orient itself. The Samsung Gear VR has nothing to track, and when your using it the direction you were facing as front slowly drifts to the left or right. Thats why its good to use a swivel chair when your using it. After ten minutes you are 180 degrees off from where you started.

   

Hey! They got SONY on my amiibo! Wait a minute. Two great gaming tastes that game great together!

Switch FC: SW-0398-8858-1969

TomaTito on 12 February 2017
SonytendoAmiibo said:
Barkley said:

I'm still trying to work out what this "drift" you're talking about is. All tracking for motion controls on the Wii Remote was done via gyroscopes, accelerometers etc.

Like I said before, the sensor bar on wii/wiiu wasn't used to correct any sort of drift.

Your idea is also flawed as you seem to imply that it'd only work while your right joycon was held above certain surface (or your leg). What if you're stood up playing?

The camera doesn't have to see the anchor point all the time, just once in a while to orient itself. The Samsung Gear VR has nothing to track, and when your using it the direction you were facing as front slowly drifts to the left or right. Thats why its good to use a swivel chair when your using it. After ten minutes you are 180 degrees off from where you started.

Plenty of Wii motion plus games used the sensor bar as a reference: Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play Motion, Skyward Sword; there was always a screen in which you had to press a button on the screen. Even the Zelda minigame in Nintendo Land had this. Still had to recalibrate from time to time.

I'm not sure if this is possible with the gesture camera, there must be a range limit for the sensor.



@Twitter | Switch | Steam

You say tomato, I say tomato 

"¡Viva la Ñ!"
SonytendoAmiibo on 12 February 2017
RolStoppable said:
ktay95 said:
Or it could be there because good fucking luck putting it on the same side as the R and ZR buttons

I am wondering if it would be feasible to put an IR camera behind a transparent R button, but the necessary parts to make a button work would probably block an IR camera that needed to sit deeper within the controller. If it still worked somehow though, the R button would obviously not be used in games with IR pointing because you can't have a finger blocking the camera.

 

Yes, on the bottom was the only place to place the IR camera. The Joy-Con info graphic says the camera can detect shapes, movement and distance. Maybe it can use that information to help keep the Joy-Cons oriented. Its just a theory, a Switch theory.

   

Hey! They got SONY on my amiibo! Wait a minute. Two great gaming tastes that game great together!

Switch FC: SW-0398-8858-1969