We've all witnessed the infamous videos of Nintendo Wii users accidentally hurling game controllers at their television, and Microsoft Kinect players bashing each other and their furniture. Intel has gained approval for a new patent that could augment the motion control popularized by Nintendo with a variety of safety features to protect gamers -- and their surroundings.
United States Patent 8333661 -- a "Gaming System with Safety Features" was approved earlier this month, but Intel isn't developing a next-generation console. Rather, they are likely developing what sounds like a multi-core processor designed to help "avoid or minimize the probability of a collision between the user of the gaming console and the surrounding objects while the user is playing a game."
Image Credit: US Patent & Trademark Office
According to Intel's patent claims, such a device would include an array of sensors working in tandem with the game console to capture images of a player's body movement inside a 3D space, similar to Microsoft's Kinect device. However, Intel's chip would also continuously monitor objects around a player and the player's proximity to them. If said player gets dangerously close to colliding with an object, the safety system would signal an audible warning alert and pause the game.
Intel's background description is worth reading:
"New generation of gaming systems support remote control-less consoles. The new generation gaming systems support features that detect and respond to motion and emotion of the users of the gaming system. However, the new generation gaming systems lack safety features, which may provide an opportunity to the users to avoid being injured caused by inadvertently colliding with the surrounding objects."
Currently, only one console -- Microsoft's Xbox 360 -- supports "remote control-less" gaming. Perhaps the author of the patent has serious insights into the next generation of consoles from Sony and even Nintendo?
Of particular interest is Intel's use of the word "emotion." Earlier this year, a Sony patent originally applied for in 2010 was published, detailing a camera that would gauge a player's emotions based on everything from sweat levels and skin temperature to facial expressions and tone of voice. Could we see this technology in the PlayStation 4 via a PlayStation Eye or evolution of the Move motion controller?
It remains to be seen if Intel's safety system proves to be fast and accurate enough to warn players of collisions or injuries to nearby friends, but as sales of traditional laptops and PCs dwindle, the chip maker may be poised to have a significant presence in the next-generation of gaming consoles.
Intel's complete patent filing is available to read here.
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