Sony will have access to ‘time of flight’ technology.
By Raif Karerat
Sony has bolstered its hopes of incorporating virtual reality technology into its PlayStation gaming platform by acquiring Belgian company Softkinetic — which makes image sensor technology for use in virtual and augmented reality — for an undisclosed sum.
In the past Sony has licensed Softkinetic’s technology, but now will have full access to the company’s full spectrum of “time of flight” technology, which guages how long light takes to bounce off an object into its sensor in order to measure distance.
Sony will be combining Softkinetic’s imaging technology with its own, “with the aim of developing the next generation of range image sensors and solutions, not only in the field of imaging,” the company said, “but for broader sensing-related applications as well.”
The PlayStation 4 does not yet have an image-sensing system to rival that of Microsoft’s Xbox One, and the newly acquired tech could certainly play a role PlayStation VR headset — previously known as Project Morpheus — which is expected to launch next year.
Incidentally, Softkinetic’s sensors work in a similar way to those installed in Microsoft’s Kinect, as described by CNet:
A diffused laser shines on an object and the sensor will carefully count how long it takes for the light from the laser to reflect back and hit it. This allows the sensor to calculate exactly how far away the object is, allowing for gesture and hand tracking, as well as mapping the space immediately in front of it.
“Sony is the perfect partner for Softkinetic, and we look forward to leverage Sony’s formidable assets to further drive the 3D vision market,” Softkinetic’s CEO told Venture Beat.