Sony Patents VR Headset That Combats Simulation Sickness With Eye-Tracking And More
The patent was originally filed in early 2017 (six months after the original PSVR’s release) and published last week. It describes a system for fighting what it describes as “virtual reality sickness” using a head-mounted display (HMD) that’s fitted with a range of biometric sensors such as a thermometer, eye-tracking cameras, a moisture sensor and exterior orientation sensors.
According to the patent, the given headset would use these features to establish a “health threshold value” that could presumably tell when a VR experience was becoming too intense for the user and then act accordingly. There’s even a microphone that will listen out for “negative” words and noises that might suggest you’re having a bad time (or you’re just doing the Mr. Baker chase in Resident Evil 7).
... this patent suggests Sony may come up with a system that accepts people get ill in VR and tries to help them when they start feeling nauseous.
That said, based on the chart below, it looks like the system would be more concerned with alerting the VR user to their condition rather than dynamically changing the given experience for it. ...
Of course, some elements of the headset could also be used in other ways. Eye-tracking, for example, is considered essential for the next step of VR. It allows for foveated rendering,...