PlayStation 3 to sense user emotions

Sony will pioneer the concept of letting users interact with computers using hand gestures, eye movements and even emotions, when its next-generation PlayStation lands. Sony is planning to enable future versions of its PlayStation gaming console to recognise user gestures and even emotions, according to an executive. The PlayStation 3 may also incorporate a motion sensor and camera add-on known as EyeToy.

Consoles such as the PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube are seen as a testing ground for bringing new technologies such as broadband into the home and making them more user-friendly. Consumer electronics companies, software makers and PC makers are looking at ways of linking devices such as gaming consoles, digital video recorders, PCs and televisions. Companies in the PC realm are also working on alternative ways for users to interact with computers.

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) vice president Phil Harrison told an Australian newspaper that "future generations" of Sony PlayStations will include motion-sensor and camera hardware similar to that found in the EyeToy PlayStation 2 peripheral. Harrison, speaking to the Australian Financial Review, didn't mention the PlayStation 3 specifically, but the remarks suggest it is likely to incorporate current hardware when it launches in 2005.

View: The full story