Bizarre Sony patent to detect viewer smiling and laughter

Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 | Author: Andy

This is an absolute must-see patent from Sony. Not only is the concept great but the drawing is absolutely priceless.

First, the concept: Sony thinks it can improve your game playing experience if it knows when you smile or laugh at something on screen.

It will do this by tracking bodily gestures and sounds via a camera and microphone connected up to a PlayStation 3, and may well handle other emotions as well.

These could be used as controllers for a game, or possibly extended to give some “Big Brother” feedback if you’re watching a film or TV programme.

I suppose there are many possibilities.

But now we come to the patent drawing itself. As well as a rather boring flowchart, we have this great diagram that makes me wonder just what went through the mind of the designer when he/she was drawing it. I guess most patents are fairly mundane affairs, and this was the only way to spice up an otherwise boring day.

Now, has anyone invented that machine?

Via

Share and Enjoy

Sony files patent for Emotion Engine tech on PS3’s Cell processor
Linux Audit Turns Up 283 Potential Patent Infringements
Apple Granted Patent for Digital Camera
Linux: death by patent?
Apple’s patent for the iTV Remote Revealed

Hope you like that post!

Forever Geek is a resource for all things geek. You can stay tuned by having the latest FG news delivered to you for free via RSS.

Category: Hardware
Tags: bizarre, Dept. of WTF, detection, emotion, laughter, patent, smile, Sony

4 Responses for "Bizarre Sony patent to detect viewer smiling and laughter"

JC

August 18th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
1

I seem to recall a machine similar to that in the movie Caligula, except instead of feet they were leather straps, and the unclothed woman using it was peddling while facing it… you can guess what it was for.
Andy Merrett

August 19th, 2009 at 7:11 am
2

No? What was it for? ;)
Jeff

August 22nd, 2009 at 10:42 pm
3

I suppose such a system *could* be used to provide feedback to the viewer, although I would be suspicious of it being used to provide feedback either to the game developer or TV show producer. But I’m paranoid like that.

I do like the drawing, it would be fun to have people try and guess what the drawing is trying to represent without any real context.
IBM develops “automatic blogging during media viewing” patent | The Blog Herald

September 1st, 2009 at 5:12 am
4

[...] It’s not as exciting as the Asus Eee wireless keyboard, but then I suppose not everyone is going to want a full-sized keyboard on their lap. Could IBM partner with Sony, which has its own patented ideas for getting user feedback? [...]