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Sony Reveals Research On Next-Gen Finger-Tracked VR Controllers

MattAces

MattAces

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The video accompanies a new research paper titled 'Evaluation of Machine Learning Techniques for Hand Pose Estimation on Handheld Device with Proximity Sensor'. Crucially, the work is authored by Kazuyuki Arimatsu and Hideki Mori from Sony Interactive Entertainment. That's the division of Sony specifically responsible for the PlayStation brand, and not the wider corp.
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Watch: Sony Reveals Research On Next-Gen Finger-Tracked VR Controllers

Past patents have suggested that Sony is working on finger-tracking for a new VR motion controller, possibly PlayStation Move 2, to be paired with an unannounced PSVR 2 headset. Now a new video from Sony researchers gives us a much more solid look at that work. The video accompanies a
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Blent

Blent

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Oct 26, 2017
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That sounds awesome.

Personally, I'm more excited about what the next-generation of console hardware will mean for VR than anything else.

I can't wait to hear about any next-generation PSVR hardware.
 
RoboPlato

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Oct 25, 2017
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PSVR2 is going to be such a massive leap in every department. Very excited to see what comes of it.
 
Napalm_Frank

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Oct 27, 2017
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I'm lowkey excited for VR developers since PSVR2 should make multiplatform VR games a whole lot easier when they don't have to design around PS4 and especially the substandard Move controllers.

VR gonna be so good next gen.
 
HStallion

HStallion

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Oct 25, 2017
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Wow, this is incredibly impressive to see. PSVR2 could be something really special from a lot of the things we've seen coming out of Sony and the VR development space in general. With the power of a PS5 backing it we could see some truly amazing experiences.
 
gofreak

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Oct 26, 2017
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It'll be interesting to see in the end if they'll blend more than one approach, to cover off different weaknesses in each. From patent literature they've been doing a lot of work on finger tracking.

If they get good eye tracking in there too, we'll have an especially massive jump up next-gen I think.
 
MrKlaw

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'd be happy with current quest as a baseline (other than comfort). onboard camera tracking, decent controllers, can do finger tracking too.
 
Wollan

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Fingertracking is nice but I believe the capacitive fingertracking seen in the Index controller is sufficient enough for the next few years (and practically reliable).
Foveated rendering / eye-tracking should be the big holy grail that everyone should be pouring all resources into now. Even if you start with 'unprecise'/high-latency eye-tracking that only gives you a 50% foveated rendering win that's still a big step in the right direction (and opens up big possibilities in game design, characters recognizing your gaze etc.). If they manage to get that into a *<$400 PSVR2 headset than that's a triumph.
 
HStallion

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Wollan said:
Fingertracking is nice but I believe the capacitive fingertracking seen in the Index controller is sufficient enough for the next few years (and practically reliable).
Foveated rendering / eye-tracking should be the big holy grail that everyone should be chasing right now. Even if you start with 'unprecise'/high-latency eye-tracking that only gives you 50% foveated rendering win that's still a big move in the right direction (and opens big possibilities in design).
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Sony has been looking into this tech for a while now, they even had Infamous Second Son demos where you could aim using only your eyes. I think the issue was the tech was prohibitively expensive at that point in time. I believe they've been looking into using something similar in the VR headsets but who knows how feasible it is.
 
Calverz

Calverz

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Oct 28, 2017
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Good. A step closer to where VR needs to be. Doesnt solve the problem of movement though. Thats a much bigger problem in my opinion.
 
score01

score01

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Oct 27, 2017
3,699
Have to admit that was pretty amazing. Imagine having to manipulate objects like that doll or something similar with your hands in order to solve puzzles in games...
 
HStallion

HStallion

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Oct 25, 2017
62,261
Calverz said:
Good. A step closer to where VR needs to be. Doesnt solve the problem of movement though. Thats a much bigger problem in my opinion.
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Movement is either going to require a room just to move around in for VR stuff or more realistically some kind of omni-directional treadmill, which there are some examples of but they are not exactly where the tech needs to be.
 
gabdeg

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PSVR2 is going to be incredible with improved tracking and a powerful CPU at the developers disposal. I hope they manage to get an RGB OLED panel this time around as well.
 
HStallion

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HairyFist87 said:
Didn't realise PSVR2 was actually a thing. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.
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Sony is in it for the long haul with VR and have been putting out patents and other info on their continued VR development. PSVR2 could be a really impressive piece of tech with all the advancements made by Sony and the VR development space in general especially since its probably not coming for at least a year after the PS5 launches.
 
vivftp

vivftp

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Oct 29, 2017
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How does this compare to whats on PC right now in terms if ability to match finger movement?
 
afrodubs

afrodubs

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Oct 27, 2017
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Looking good, I wonder how long until we see it? How long would it take to include good eye tracking FR at an affordable price? Can't wait, I'm in!
 
Wollan

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Bold One said:
Add this to the crazy sound tech - Sony is about to make reality obsolete.
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Powered by PS5 & Tempest audio engine + decent fingertracking + 1st gen foveated rendering / eye-tracking + optional wireless + Index-like controllers + PSVR level of long-term comfort...
PSVR2 could be a perfect storm of high-end VR at a cost-effective price.

Launching with Astro Bot 2, Resident Evil 8 & Half-Life: Alyx.
 
orava

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Jun 10, 2019
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Great to see machine learning used in applications like this. Oculus Quest already does this with their finger tracking for example and while it still needs work, the results are very promising.

Some of the comments in this thread sound like they come from a sony marketing handbook.
 
PLASTICA-MAN

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Oct 26, 2017
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Good idea for PS VR3 on PS6.

Too late to include this for PSVR2 cus that stuff must be already ready and tis is still in Research state and not even in Development.
 
defaltoption

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I really wish I didn't get sick in VR or motion sickness in general so I could be as excited about this stuff as all of you are.
 
nujabeans

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What are the chances this they will be able to industrialize this prototype down to a mass-produced, fairly affordable consumer product?

This would be another next-gen step for PSVR2. With Sony investing in innovation with the PS5 and DualSense, you would think this would also be in the PSVR2 controller. Hopefully they can do it.
 
Modest_Modsoul

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Maybe Insomniac could do more immersive Resistance 4 now...

Valve did a great job with Alyx.
 
SharpX68K

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This is going to be (almost) like Minority Report.


PLASTICA-MAN said:
Good idea for PS VR3 on PS6.

Too late to include this for PSVR2 cus that stuff must be already ready and tis is still in Research state and not even in Development.
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vivftp said:
PSVR2 is likely at least 1.5 years off from launch. This work is for that, not its successor
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I think all of this will come together for the consumer in late 2022, for PS5 and PSVR2.
 
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Bold One

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nujabeans said:
What are the chances this they will be able to industrialize this prototype down to a mass-produced, fairly affordable consumer product?

This would be another next-gen step for PSVR2. With Sony investing in innovation with the PS5 and DualSense, you would think this would also be in the PSVR2 controller. Hopefully they can do it.
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Thats asking too much.

And nobody is paying 200 Trumps for a Controller.
 
Wollan

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vivftp said:
PSVR2 is likely at least 1.5 years off from launch. This work is for that, not its successor
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Holiday 2021 but no later I expect.
Waiting longer and Sony would not be doing the VR market any favors. Core PS gamers are already asking the question if investing in a PSVR1 is worth it at this point. Waiting longer would also mean that it would give the competition (Microsoft) time to enter the stage.
 

Deleted member 54073

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Bar a couple of games like Astrobot I didn't think PSVR was worth the spend to jump into, hopefully the games and tech will be there for PSVR2 so I have an excuse to hop on board!
 

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Nightengale

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nujabeans said:
What are the chances this they will be able to industrialize this prototype down to a mass-produced, fairly affordable consumer product?
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As far as we can tell, there's no any sort of special or expensive hardware inside that prototype, it's just proximity sensors and presumably pressure sensitive sensors on the grip of the controller - it's really a showcase of machine-learning's ability to utilize those sensor data to accurately predict finger tracking based on micro-movements of your hands, even though there's nothing inside the controller that actually tracks the location of your actual finger.
 

Deleted member 4247

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Looks brilliant. I was always intrigued by VR (and loved it when I tried it), but I skipped it this gen since PSVR on the PS4 kinda feels like an alpha version of what VR should really be. PC VR has obviously come further, but I don't have a gaming PC and don't want to make that investment right before the new console generation is about to kick off (if I did, it would be for the best VR experience I could get, so a high end PC + an Index = not cheap). Very excited to hopefully jump in with the PSVR2!
 
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