PlayStation’s EyeToy is a color digital camera device with a built-in microphone for the game console PlayStation 2 and was originally called iToy (interactive toy). It uses computer vision and gesture recognition which allows players to interact with games using motion, color detection, and sound. The EyeToy was created by Richard Marks in 1999, but the device was not released until 2003. Here is a video of someone playing a game with the use of EyeToy.
Despite of its success, it does have its technical limitation. The camera is only able to detect the player in a well-lit room. Whenever the device registered insufficient light, a red LED will flash to signal the player. To solve this problem, Sony filed a patent for a “magic wand” in August 2005, which is capable of illuminating different colors in order to communicate better with the camera.
In September 2005, Nintendo announced its Wii Remote, a wireless controller which was well-received. In contrast, Sony received much criticism about their boomerang-shaped controller for the PlayStation 3 that was coming. Sony made a new announcement in 2006 that their “boomerang” had been replaced by Sixaxis; a wireless, motion sensitive controller. This had caused rumors that Sony stole the idea from Nintendo. Whichever position you take in this issue, the Sixaxis was phased out and got replaced by the Dualshock 3 controller which has a vibration feature, Sixaxis functionality, and looks similar to PlayStation 2’s Dualshock 2 controller.
Then PlayStation Eye came, EyeToy’s successor for the PlayStation 3 which was released in 2007. According to Sony, the PlayStation Eye has four times the resolution, two times the frame-rate, and two times the sensitivity of the EyeToy. Due to a partnership with OmniVision Technologies, Sony was able to incorporate a sensor chip with larger sensor pixels, allowing a more effective low-light operation which partially solves the lighting problem. The following video shows the PlayStation Eye in action.
To solve the low-light issue, PlayStation Move is being created for the PlayStation 3 and was first revealed on June 2, 2009. The magic wand is basically a remote control with a bulb attached to the top. The LED in the bulb illuminates different colors to communicate different commands to the PlayStation Eye. In addition, the Eye tracks the wand’s position and its motion by following the light source. This results in increased accuracy, even at a greater distance than EyeToy and Eye were able to register on their own. PlayStation Move is expected to be released in Q3/Q4 of 2010. Watch the video below to get an impression of what PlayStation Move has to offer.
The PlayStation Move will be competing against Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360’s Project Natal. In which of these are you more interested?
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