Sony Files Patent For Biofeedback Accessory

Sony has left much to the imagination when it comes to the PlayStation 5. Other than the logo shown off at CES 2020, not much else has been announced. Fortunately for the curious, a new patent application by Sony points towards a new feature potentially on the next iteration of DualShock controllers.

Based on an IGN report, the DualShock 5 may have an attachment that can sense one or more different biometrics. The full patent lists the biofeedback information tracked as “i. electrodermal activity measurements, and ii. heart rate measurements.” In other words, sweat and heart rate may be able to be tracked through this attachment.

Although the uses of it aren’t clear, this accessory have a wide variety of use cases. For example, one could imagine the heart rate monitor could be important for fitness or relaxing games where heart rate measurements could be used to gauge performance within the game. It is uncertain what sweat tracking may do in this context – potentially let the game remind you to hydrate? Another use for these biofeedback sensors might be for horror games, where sweat and heart rate could be used to determine in game jump scares for maximum fright.

It’s important to note that these patents don’t always come to fruition. We also don’t know what exactly this accessory will turn into or how the feedback from it will be implemented into games. However, the fact that Sony has filed a patent application for this biofeedback accessory shows their willingness to try new things to make the PlayStation 5 experience more immersive and adaptive to the user’s biometrics.