Intended audience: Gamers and VR techies.
In the news:
At the E3 2009 Expo (June 2-4), Sony announced a new "Motion Controller" for Play Station 3.
What we know...
The PlayStation Motion Controller is a hybrid tracking system that combines the vision-tracking ability of the PlayStation Eye with internal motion sensors (either accelerometers or gyroscopes).
After seeing images of what appears to be the original Sony patent with hints of ultrasonic tracking for distance detection, I finally found this audio blog where SCE Chief Kaz Hirai explains that ultrasonic tracking was not implemented in the E3 prototype (starting around 1:45 into the clip).
The comments by Hirai are insightful: it appears that the motto for the motion controller is "less hardware; real-time accuracy". However his claim around 3:19 that "There's no time lag, there's nothing..." is obviously incorrect (just marketing).
I'm not sure what buttons/joysticks the final product will contain. (I'm hoping there is at least one button/trigger and one thumb-stick.)
A comparison of the Motion Controller to the the Nintendo Wii Remote:
Latency:
Although the PlayStation Eye acts as video input, vision recognition should be performed by the PS3 (perhaps using parallel processing?). The WiiMote does vision recognition itself using built-in hardware (it's quite a device). The PlayStation Eye is connected to the PS3 via USB, but the WiiMote communicates to the Wii via Bluetooth. Given these two facts, I'm sure the Motion Controller has at least the latency of the WiiMote, but probably better.
Frequency:
I can't find any hardware specs on the WiiMote's IR camera, but I think it's somewhere between 60 and 100 Hertz. The PS Eye can operate at either 60 or 120 Hertz. I'm willing to believe that the WiiMote's Bluetooth connection is not a limiting factor, so we'll generously compare 100Hz Wiimote to 120Hz Motion Controller.
Tracking:
In the video above, the tracking appears to be solid. I'm particularly interested in the augmented reality overlay around 2:30, involving the tennis raquet, baseball bat, etc. You may have noticed that there was minimal jitter (even at the tip of the bat) and that the orientation looked correct as the fella turned it in his hand. My hat is off to Sony!
Motion sensing:
The Motion Controller claims to offer near one-to-one motion control in all six directions. The Wiimote requires the Motion Plus attachment to get nearer to one-to-one motion sensing than the WiiMote alone. We shall see...
Price:
The WiiMote + Nunchuk costs about $60. The PS Eye costs about $40. Since the Motion Controller is "just" a wireless light bulb with buttons, it could (hopefully) cost as little as $15 or $20, but you may see it marked up a little higher. Certainly "affordable", as these things go.
Summary:
I think both Nintendo and Sony need a round of applause: Nintendo for pushing the envelope by introducing built-in, lost-cost tracking into the Wii, and Sony for what looks like a high-quality, affordable tracking and motion controller system.
About the author: Ethan Blackwelder has experience as a student, researcher, and developer in the fields of Virtual Reality and Tracking. He currently works at the Virtual Experiences Research Group at the University of Florida.
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