Congrats, Sony! You just became the new favorite for August’s prestigious Dumbest Idea for Patent to Secure Hilariously Irrelevant Technology (or “DIPSHIT”) award. Incidentally, you stole the lead from Nintendo’s inflatable Horseback Riding Saddle , so well done!
So here’s the deal: Sony Computer Entertainment America just filed a patent for software that can detect laughter , as well as other emotions, such as sadness, excitement, anger, joy, interest, and a numb, existential angst that gnaws at the core of your soul boredom. The idea is that you’ll be able to control games with your emotions . In theory, then, an in-game character would be able to react differently to you, depending on whatever expression your stupid face is displaying at the time.
According to the copyright illustration above, this will be done by connecting a microphone and camera to a PS3, and then letting both devices pick up gestures from individuals and groups of people (it could detect a ‘high five,’ for instance).
Anyway, speaking of laughter, I find the people depicted in copyright documentation to be kind of hilarious/creepy. First we had Nintendo’s bizarre man-child-in-a-romper-suit , and now Sony’s guffawing, slightly deformed man in a chair.
[Thanks to Siliconera for another brilliant piece of patent-spotting]
