A new patent filing from Sony Interactive Entertainment shows a unique feature that can reach your own virtual reality headsets.
With Sony causes its next upcoming appearance PlayStation VR headphones in a blog post in February this year, virtual reality fans were wondering what the PSVR updates will be. While Sony has kept its words firm about its VR successor, it is possible that a new patent will end up revealing an amazing new feature.
The first PlayStation VR has been a success for Sony. Sales are expected to exceed five million, which is good for something that could be considered a niche device. But with virtual reality as a new technology, advances have been rapidly occurring. Other VR developers like Oculus have released various devices like Oculus Quest 2 since the launch of Sony headphones with enhancements like wireless VR. As such, Sony needs to innovate.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. has just applied for a new U.S. patent for an HMD, or head-mounted screen, invented by Ruxin Chen of San Mateo, California. The patent is entitled HMD display screen front panel for viewing users viewing the HMD player, and appears to display a secondary screen on the outside of the headset so that users who are not wearing the headset can see it. The player using the headset would see the screen on the inside of the device, while people who were not wearing the headset could see what is happening by looking at the screen on the outside of the device. The PSVR 2 is rumored to use OLED displays.
The patent also speaks of a PlayStation VR camera that performs a facial scan of the user before the headphones are put on and then combined with a second scan performed by the headset to create an image of the face of the user to show it on the outside screen people who do not wear headphones. In addition, the patent continues to show examples of the user’s changing emotions that are then displayed on the outside screen for others to see.
While it may seem like a strange feature, anyone who has used a virtual reality headset in a room with other people will know that it can be a disconnected experience. The user cannot see what other people are doing in the room. A secondary external display can allow users to see what’s going on with the person playing the headphones and get more involved in the experience. Another PlayStation VR patent shows that a virtual AR wizard user can interact.
Of course, the fact that a company files a patent for a device does not mean that this device comes to fruition. Still, a secondary screen can lead to some interesting multiplayer game ideas with a single headset. PlayStation VR fans will only have to wait to see if this feature enters the final device. Meanwhile, games like Moss: book 2 PSVR players should be happy.
PlayStation VR is compatible with PS4 and PS5.
