Sly snooper ‘gofreak’ at the NeoGAF forums has discovered something…. odd buried in a new patent filing from Sony. The patent, filed on October the 23rd, describes a one-handed controller with which movement and location data can be tracked across all three axises. It says that this data can also be used to determine distance between two controllers in the hands of one person or in the hands of mutliple players. A series of infrared beams detected by an “utltra sonic detector” (example given the PlayStation Eye) make this whole shibang work, and since the camera will be watching you (unlike the Wii Remoe where the “camera” is in the controller and watches the infrared beams coming from the sensor bar) it can also determine the location of the controller relative to your body. The patent also describes an “ultrasonic” tracking method in which the controller emits inaudible noises that the microphone of the PSEye would detect. Seems like a creative method if not an entirely practical one.

It should be noted that not all patents end up being real products, however it would at least appear that Sony is working up something to counter the Wii’s motion controls.

There is all sorts of craziness to be seen in the rest of the patent’s pictures, located at the link below.

US Patent Office Via NeoGaf