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anexanhume

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,913
Maryland
Really neat patent here from Sony that would allow Braille text readout through a series of actuators and a flexible "display" layer.

PORTABLE DEVICE AND SYSTEM - Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

<div p-id="p-0001">A system includes a portable device for providing tactile feedback to a user, and a handheld games controller, the games controller including a receiving portion for securing the po

The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to map the received text information to braille; and wherein the processor is configured to control the tactile output of at least some of the touch elements so as to output a first portion of the received text information in braille.

 

Deleted member 7883

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,387
Holy shit. BRAILLE?! BRUH. THAT IS WILD. ACCESSIBILITY TURNED UP TO TEN THOUSAND (support the xbox adaptive controller tho pls!) That's awesome. Wow. I hope we see this in the final product.
 

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,713
United States
Wow... that's a huge step for accessibility that I didn't think we'd see for years and years still. Would love to see this come in fruition.
 

vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,763
Very nice, hope it becomes a reality.

Also, very interesting that it seems to be something that either goes on top of or replaces the touchpad? Could the touchpad be removable on DS5? If so, I'll take a replacement screen module plz :)
 

Brotherhood93

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,800
Everytime I see reports of a patent I usually think that's a cool thing we'll never hear about again. Hopefully this isn't one of those. Would imagine this would be absolutely huge for some.
 

SolidSnakex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,391
Everytime I see reports of a patent I usually think that's a cool thing we'll never hear about again. Hopefully this isn't one of those. Would imagine this would be absolutely huge for some.

There are so many patents for the potential DS5 that there's no way that they could all be part of it without it being ridiculously expensive.
 

Komo

Info Analyst
Verified
Jan 3, 2019
7,110
This is so far off of being an actual product, that I'm certain this was just something a engineer was working on on the side.

There's no reference to a legitimate product, and it doesn't seem like the design is final either.

I'd give it 3 years tops.
 

Megamind.

Member
Nov 18, 2019
1,006
Braille?? Umm... what?. If a person has impaired vision or is blind, then playing video games are rather impossible. I just do see the point of those technology for a gaming controller
 
OP
OP
anexanhume

anexanhume

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,913
Maryland
There are so many patents for the potential DS5 that there's no way that they could all be part of it without it being ridiculously expensive.
This is a separate attachment.
This is so far off of being an actual product, that I'm certain this was just something a engineer was working on on the side.

There's no reference to a legitimate product, and it doesn't seem like the design is final either.

I'd give it 3 years tops.
Lots of patents don't turn into products. There's nothing in this patent to suggest any of your more pointed statements are true. Sometimes patents don't surface until after they're in a shipping product.

Braille?? Umm... what?. If a person has impaired vision or is blind, then playing video games are rather impossible. I just do see the point of those technology for a gaming controller
Would you say that to a person with vision impairment?
 

Ralph

Member
Oct 27, 2017
356
Not to be insensitive, but what is the purpose? Blind people can't exactly play video games can they?
 

Deleted member 7883

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
2,387
Braille?? Umm... what?. If a person has impaired vision or is blind, then playing video games are rather impossible. I just do see the point of those technology for a gaming controller
have you seen how many threads we get complaining of how small text size is for those of us with perfect(ish) vision? Partial blindness is a thing. This would definitely help out a lot of those dealing with that, even if it wouldn't help much with 100% blind folk.
 

Tregard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,221
Not to be insensitive, but what is the purpose? Blind people can't exactly play video games can they?

My only thought is people who are partially sighted just might not be able to read text on-screen but could still see other things? Also potentially people who are deaf and partially sighted could use this.
 

Deleted member 8861

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Oct 26, 2017
10,564
That's fucking awesome!

It could be used for puzzles and stuff too but obviously that's just a small bonus.
 

Cess007

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,116
B.C., Mexico
Braille?? Umm... what?. If a person has impaired vision or is blind, then playing video games are rather impossible. I just do see the point of those technology for a gaming controller
Not to be insensitive, but what is the purpose? Blind people can't exactly play video games can they?

Braile is used not only for the totally blind, but also for those with others visual impairments. This could be of use for those.
 

Megamind.

Member
Nov 18, 2019
1,006
have you seen how many threads we get complaining of how small text size is for those of us with perfect(ish) vision? Partial blindness is a thing. This would definitely help out a lot of those dealing with that, even if it wouldn't help much with 100% blind folk.


I suppose so. I feel that devs could do more to solve a problem easily, rather than have a hardware solution that would require your hands to be placed on the touchpad, resulting in an ability to press other buttons.

I'm all for accessibility in video games. However, I feel this wouldnt really solve anything and other solutions could be much more beneficial. Of course I could be wrong though
 

Temascos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,521
Braille would be pretty cool to implement for those who need it, this plus improvements in sound technology could lead to some good breakthroughs for accessibility. :)
 

Thorzilla

Member
Oct 28, 2017
690
Huh. That's quite interesting. I'm intrigued to see what accessibility features Sony implements in PS5.

Honest question though... how is gaming possible for someone blind? Experiences need to be tailored fully to their special needs, no?
 

Ænima

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,513
Portugal
This would be awesome if implemented. Most patents are just that, patents that never get implemented. It could work well for visual novels type of games.
 

Ultima_5

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,673
i dont quite get the use case for this since if someones unable to read the text on the screen, playing the game itself would still be incredibly difficult.

still a neat tech and a good step in the right direction.
 

SGJin

Member
Feb 23, 2018
607
Blind video game players do exist like SightlessCombat that playes Gears horde mode and Killer Instict since they have excellent sound design. I could see braille being super useful for menu navigation or showing notifications.
 

Deleted member 8752

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Oct 26, 2017
10,122
I think people underestimate the possibility of text based adventures being a viable thing. Same with turn based games.