Sony System Improves Video Game Graphic Quality Without Draining Processing Resources

The Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, inhabits a very powerful spot in the world of entertainment, whether for film, video games, music or other forms of media. In recent months, this company has had its share of both good and bad news. Incredibly large numbers of pre-orders for Sony’s flagship Xperia Z2 4K-camera smartphone has pushed the general release of this device to retail stores back until May. Just as Sony is making positive strides into the smartphone market, however, layoffs and project delays have been hampering Sony Worldwide Studios, a gaming subsidiary of the Sony Corporation. However, that subsidiary did just recently reveal it’s innovative Project Morpheus technology, a virtual reality headset designed for use with the PlayStation 4.

The novel technologies regarding various aspects of the entertainment world found in Sony’s patent applications and issued patents always provides good material for the Companies We Follow series here at IPWatchdog. Today, we scour the recently published material from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to find out what development goals Sony has been moving towards. We’re not surprised to find video gaming and interactive video systems at the center of many patent applications and issued patents assigned to Sony.

Better methods for providing high-quality interactive graphics with video games is the focus of today’s featured patent application. This system is designed to improve upon the quality of graphics already available through computing consoles for video gaming without causing an excess drain on graphic processing unit resources. We also discuss some other interesting innovations profiled in other patent applications, including a method for better rotational control over an electronic device’s user interface, as well as easier methods of recording stereoscopic video for 3D movies.

As our readers know, issued patents are the true measure of a company’s intellectual property holdings, and Sony has been been awarded dozens just in the past few weeks. One issued patent protects a system of ordering notebooks customized with an individual’s or organization’s logo. We also discuss patents that protect systems of providing easier access to digital rights management-protected media among programs from different vendors, and a method of using televisions to edit images stored on a digital camera.

[Companies-2]

 

Compositing Interactive Video Game Graphics With Pre-Recorded Background Video…
U.S. Patent Application No. 20140087877

As video gaming consoles increase in computational capabilities, many game developers design games with increasingly complex graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to enhance interactivity between the player and the game environment. For instance, three-dimensional rendering of graphics may be desirable for a game, while collision rendering, physics-based modeling and other graphics techniques can improve a game’s visual appearance in real-time.

However, as video games require ever faster frame rates for graphics processing, some games approaching one frame every 33 milliseconds, the graphic processing unit (GPU) may be unable to render graphics at the desired quality. Some game designers are able to circumvent this issue by including pre-recorded video content, which doesn’t require in-game rendering, but this can limit the interactive nature of the game environment for a player.

Sony has filed this patent application with the USPTO in September 2012 to protect a system that allows for more pre-recorded video content without hampering a game’s interactivity. This system utilizes pre-recorded content for the background of a game scene, over which interactive elements may be superimposed. The superimposition process can be dynamic based on the actions of a player in a game, and can include any synchronization necessary to prevent artifacts from appearing when the foreground and background are rendered.

The pre-recorded content used for the background may be very high in quality without draining much of the computational resources needed by the GPU to process images and techniques. The extra GPU resources saved by these pre-recorded backgrounds allow better graphics controls for synchronizing effects with player inputs or player control of the visual camera. According to the description of the invention, the technology is capable of being used with other hardware platforms, including computers and mobile devices, along with video game consoles.

As Claim 1 states, Sony is seeking the right to protect:

“A computer-implemented method for compositing video game graphics, the method comprising: generating one or more foreground images associated with one or more interactive game objects; generating a background video associated with one or more non-interactive game objects, wherein the background video is generated by transforming at least a part of one or more prerecorded panoramic videos; and superimposing the background video and the foreground image.”

 

Other Patent Applications

U.S. Patent Application No. 20140085419, entitled “Stereoscopic Video Imaging System and Synchronous Control Method.”

Many of the innovations we’ve noticed coming out of the the facilities of the Sony Corporation involve various video processing and media content delivery systems meant to improve the company’s various entertainment products. A couple of patent applications we opened up today discuss some intriguing new products for video media. Some of these patent applications would protect methods of generating video for filmmaking, such as the technology described in U.S. Patent Application No. 20140085419, entitled Stereoscopic Video Imaging System and Synchronous Control Method. This innovative system allows for quicker setup of two cameras recording a stereoscopic image by connecting the two with a single cable meant to send a synchronization signal between the devices. Video player programs for television and DVD player owners may enjoy the service described in U.S. Patent Application No. 20140082669, which is titled System and Method of Providing an Interactive Menu Through Streaming Video. This would allow users to interact with a digital menu providing suggestions for other videos to watch, looping them into a stream.

US Pat. App. 20140080607, titled “Game Controller.”

A few other Sony patent applications have been filed in the hopes of protecting improvements to some of Sony’s handheld devices. In U.S. Patent Application No. 20140080607, filed under the title Game Controller, Sony hopes to be able to protect a type of digital interface controller which can be used in conjunction with image detection systems for enhanced gameplay. The technology is specific to video game controllers, although the description states that this technology could be useful for business and educational environments. We were also intrigued by the user interface improvement detailed in U.S. Patent Application No. 20140085227, titled Display and Method in an Electronic Device. This technology, developed by subsidiary Sony Mobile Communications, would reduce erroneous screen rotations in handheld devices. In this way, a user won’t be as apt to incorrectly input a piece of information because the screen is tilted slightly, causing the interface to rotate as if the entire device had been turned.

[Companies-1]

 

Issued Patents of Note (Images: portable terminal.png; custom decorating.png;

As a global leader in the field of consumer electronics and entertainment systems, Sony Corporation’s innovations often set the standard for their industries. That makes their patented technologies a very interesting topic for us to cover here in IPWatchdog’s Companies We Follow series. Today, we’re seeing some novel digital systems for interacting with multimedia content among Sony’s various patents issued recently by the USPTO.

From U.S. Patent No. 8683463, titled “Portable Terminal Device and Reception Method for Simultaneously Displaying Applications.”

Many organizations have attempted to create core technologies for digital rights management (DRM) of media, but Sony is looking to make a name for itself in that area with U.S. Patent No. 8683200, entitled Method and Apparatus for Implementing Digital Rights Management. This patent protects a system of transferring DRM-protected material across computer networks that allows better interoperability between encryption and rendering technologies from different vendors. U.S. Patent No. 8683463, issued under the title Portable Terminal Device and Reception Method for Simultaneously Displaying Applications, protects a system of linking separate applications, such as an e-mail app and a web browser, for interoperability. Recently, we discussed a similar technology for linking applications in a device described by a patent application we featured in our recent coverage on Samsung’s innovations. We were also intrigued by the invention protected by U.S. Patent No. 8681233, titled Camera Image Editing Using a Television. This system looks to make advantageous use of the large size of television screens for editing images stored on a camera.

We finish our look at Sony’s recently protected inventions with a couple of unique technologies that aim to improve the customer experience for Sony’s products. Better methods of incorporating original images or logos into notebook computer designs is protected by U.S. Patent No. 8680008, entitled Custom Decorating Configure-to-Order System and Custom Decorating Process. This system utilizes user stations which are capable of transmitting user images to a server for printing and heat transfer onto the notebook. Players in online virtual reality worlds can keep their immersive experience intact in response to alert notifications thanks to the technology protected by U.S. Patent No. 8678922, which is titled Entertainment Device and Method. This system administers alerts in online environments and allows the user to respond without leaving their game environment.

Share

Warning & Disclaimer: The pages, articles and comments on IPWatchdog.com do not constitute legal advice, nor do they create any attorney-client relationship. The articles published express the personal opinion and views of the author as of the time of publication and should not be attributed to the author’s employer, clients or the sponsors of IPWatchdog.com.

Join the Discussion

No comments yet.