Sony Patents Biometric Sensor Tech to Track a Player’s Heart Rate – Report

Sony has reportedly patented biometric sensor technology to track a player’s heart rate while playing games. This will allow the tech to adjust a game’s difficulty, NPC behaviour and even record gameplay highlights. According to the report, the tech seems pretty advanced and goes well beyond what we’ve seen before with the likes of the Wii Vitality Sensor or gimmicks used for games like Alien: Isolation.

As reported by The Game Post, Sony recently published four new patents focusing on biometric sensors like heart monitors. So how exactly does this technology work? According to the published patents, it will detect a player’s heart rate and adjust the difficulty accordingly. It will also change certain game elements such as moving particularly intense scenes to a different part of the game or changing the music and sound effects in case scenes trigger players.

“Heart rate sensors could be embedded in devices like smartwatches, rings or video game controllers,” reads the report. “When the game detects rising heart rates, it might ease up on difficulty to avoid overwhelming the player, or, conversely, it could make things more intense if it senses you’re too relaxed.”

Sony Biometric Sensors Heart Rate

The patent gave an example:

“As an example, in a scene that induces higher pulse rates, no more than two game characters may be allowed to enter a virtual room in the game. Or, difficulty in aiming weapons may be added or subtracted in response to the biometric feedback.”

It all sounds pretty advanced and cool in concept, though practically, it might be better suited to amplify the experience of horror games like Silent Hill. In fact, with at least five Resident Evil games reported to be in development, this tech could accompany the release of any one of those Capcom titles. Of course, we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation from Sony and see if the company decides to move ahead with it.

Source: The Game Post

Writer
Editor-in-Chief of Nexus Hub, writer at GLITCHED. Former writer at The Gaming Report and All Otaku Online. RPG addict that has wonderful nightmares of Bloodborne 2.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *