iPad? No, Sony Just Patented Something It’s Calling The ‘EyePad’



A new Sony patent hints at the possibility of tablet style, motion-controlled gaming. It’s called the “EyePad”. Because that’s totally not confusing.

Sony has a long proud history of “Eye” devices, such as the EyeToy and the PlayStation Eye. This moniker, which seems to be a codename, isn’t final. It’s not even a product yet, but rather, one of many Sony patents.

The patent, which GameChup unearthed, was published this week and originally filed in mid 2012. Thus, the application refers to the PlayStation 3 and as with most Sony patents, this should be looked at as R&D — for the time being.

The device is shown to be a flat tablet with glowing edges that would act as motion tracking devices with the PS3’s PlayStation Eye. The screen has a touchpad, but the device can detect motion above the touchpad, thanks to two cameras embedded in the device. This means that players could wave their hand over the device to interact with it.

As SlashGear points out, ideas for the device include a finger-controlled 3D roller coaster, a hand-controlled point-and-click game, and virtual animal petting. Why is there always virtual animal petting?

So, yes, this is a Sony patent. There are tech boffins working on this device. But whether it ever makes it out of the lab is another story altogether.

European Patent Application [Free Patents Online via GameChup via SlashGear]