Lag and hard game mechanics have often been credited as the main culprits of gamer rage, but it appears Sony has a nifty new solution for such an issue. The multimedia giant has recently unveiled its new patented technology which aims to fix control input latency and even predict button presses for players using AI. This way, lag and frustrating mechanics could be eliminated.
Thanks to Tech4Gamers for spotting the new patent filing from Sony, we now have a glimpse of what some of their plans might be for the future of gaming. It also appears Sony is confident enough in this new tech, seeing as they have already filed the patent though that usually won’t mean it will be accepted as their sole proprietary tech.
Sony’s patent and tech, called ‘TIMED INPUT/ACTION RELEASE’ involves using AI to determine the players’ next button press. Of course, the tech is more intricate and somewhat more invasive than you think since it’s going to need a camera pointed at the player’s fingers or hands.
How it Works
A machine learning model or AI will visually record your finger and hand movements on the controller and predict button presses. The tech will not only play some of the game for you but will also cut down input latency, especially the one between your fingers and buttons or between the buttons and the circuit board. Here’s Sony’s exact wording:
“A machine learning-based model or other system is configured to release user commands to a computer game at a time when the command correctly aligns with what is going on in the computer game. As such, the command might be predicted and released before the user input action is completed, or might be delayed after completion and processing until a later time when the command is most appropriate for release.
There can be latency between the user’s input action and the system’s subsequent processing and execution of the command. This, in turn, results in delayed execution of the command and unintended consequences in the game itself,” according to Sony’s patent.
The catch, as you expected, is that Sony will be watching you, or rather its AI, but who knows? Moreover, Sony’s new controller AI tech will have limited applications– mostly for multiplayer and online games. Singeplayer games are not exactly beholden to the internet and its drawbacks.
Should the patent push through, you could expect something like this for the upcoming and eventual PlayStation 6 and its new AI-powered DualSense controllers.
