Into Sony's Magic Lab Laboratory

The Sony Magic Lab Lab, the fifth floor of a seemingly ordinary building in California State San Mateo. Out of the elevator door, will be shocked by the image of the front. The team's captain, Richard Marks, tried to build the lab out of a lava-like environment, using 3D optics. This magical team, each member also has its own strengths, has been involved in the PS4 body sense camera and PS move Body Sensing controller design.

Over the past few years, Sony has sold more than 13.5 million sets of new game consoles, more than Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's Wii PS4. Although PS4 has recently won the console War console game, Sony understands that players ' level is always wavering-PS2 won applause, but PS3 was defeated at the feet of Microsoft and Nintendo.

The most high-profile project in Magic Lab now is the Morpheus project, which is connected to the PS4 game and may become a strong opponent of Facebook's Oculus Rift, although the two-product version is not announced when it will be officially available. Marks the virtual reality experiment in NASA, using Morpheus and PS move somatosensory controllers to manipulate two athlete Rover virtual models.

Another Magic Lab lab that gets Sony games is Eric Larsen's eye-tracking program. Combined with the eye-tracking camera invented by Sensomotoric Limited, Larsen will be able to control the game with the user's "eye gaze". For example, in a shooting game, the player can use one eye to aim at the target, "one eye is fatal"; In the role-playing game, staring at an NPC, he may be uncomfortable.

"If the user is in a state of combat, his eyes can convey the next step that the user wants to take, so the user-manipulated character is doing the right thing by ' reading the Eye '," Larsen said. In addition, AI technology can recognize that a user is staring at a weapon, so the device automatically understands that the user wants to get the equipment. ”

One problem with eye-tracking devices is that users must be within a few feet of the tracker, not too far away. This also determines that the current eye tracking game requires the player to only be fixed at the table, and not lying on the couch like watching TV as well as enjoy.

In addition, the Magic Lab's tactile feedback project is also interesting. The user manipulates the PS Move Body Sensing controller, and the device restores the user's action to virtual reality. This technology may be critical to Morpheus, as a smart headband Morpheus lacks strong "signal input" support.

Osman said he was trying to make a combination of game consoles and robots, and he even used PS4 to remotely control a four-wheeled toy helicopter-type robot in his office. The robot can return the position data to the PS4 in real time to ensure the safety of the equipment. "I want to try this DIY remote control plane to fly up against the wall without damaging the office," he said. Even if you install an invisible wall, the robot can be detected and not hit. ”

Douglas Wilson, a software developer in the Magic Lab team, said he wanted people to stop sitting on the couch and watch TV, but to participate in large party games by using the PS move Body Sense Controller, and socializing became more convenient.

In the end, Marks said, "Hewlett-Packard says it's not important until a product can fit into a user's pocket." With the continuous development of science and technology, we hope to create change, and really make some valuable new products. ”