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Video of New Research Conducted with PlayStation Eye

+ Posted by Richard Marks // SCEA R&D Manager, Special Projects

Most of you probably already know about the launch of the PlayStation Eye, and hopefully you’re as excited as we are here in PlayStation R&D. By the time products launch, our contribution is usually long past, but this time we wanted to join the fun. So we thought we’d give you an exclusive first glimpse at some of our new research that uses PS Eye.

We grabbed our lab camcorder and filmed some tech demos created by newcomer Anton Mikhailov (he’s the guy playing games in the videos). Anton has been using PS Eye to let users add their own content into games. So far, he’s focused on simple, familiar games (like lunar lander and tank battle) that he can code for PS3 in a day or so. These games are pretty old school, but they become amazingly fun again when you get to add your own content. And when the PS3 adds physics to your content, things become even more fun! (why does everyone keep mentioning Little Big Planet?)

Check out the videos. We filmed them without cuts so you could see how easy it is to add your own content.

Note that these are tech demos, not products. We just wanted to let you see one of our crazy ideas of how the PS Eye might be used in the future. Anton or I will be answering questions, so let us know what you think!

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Filed: Hardware, Title Spotlight

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322 Comments Add your own

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jigglywiggly  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:36 am

That’s awesome.

I wish you guys would release some of this stuff for us bedroom coders to play around with.

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hohlraum  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am

Please add echo cancellation to video chat on ps3. my dad shelled out like $500 bucks looking forward to using video chat and the feedback and echo is horrible no matter where you place the Eye. Can’t believe none of this was actually tested :(

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Jebus13  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:38 am

That’s truly inspiring. Now why everyone keeps mentioning Little Big Planet is the creator shown in one of the videos, will this Technology be workable with that? I love the use of the toys to playability.

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Ghostm  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:38 am

That’s freaking sweet!

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saunderswan  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:42 am

is there any plans to release a first person shooter using the PSEYE to track your movement in games like actually haveing to duck to duck?? like TimeCrisis 4 instead of pressing the hide button? is this even possible with the PSEYE?

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Chrisrahosiris  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:45 am

I am looking forward to seeing this incorporated into more upcoming titles

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tearsofash  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:46 am

So will any of these tech demos ever be turned into products? It would be rad to have these little one-day-to-make trinket programs to mess with the eye with as well.

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zookey  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:55 am

DUDE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MAKE FULL FLEDGE GAMES OFF OF THESE TECH DEMOS!!!! You have any idea how much money you would make? It is like kicking the Wii in the sweet spot man—I mean the proof was in how many people you had lined up to make game assets!

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Toadzter17  |  November 14th, 2007 at 11:57 am

How do your scanned object know what type of object they are? Are you using abstraction for all object or are there templates for a limited number of object? Will we be able to create our own unique object behaviors and couple objects together? For instance, create a vehicle and attach turrets to it at various locations.

Thanks

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jerrt  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

get that tank game out stat!!!! i mean it is like the old combat game for atari, but totally customizable. you guys have got some great things on your hands.

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Richard Marks's Avatar

Anton Mikhailov  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:17 pm

Thanks for all the feedback guys! In response to the above, the tanks are “mildly” aware of what is going on. We programmed them to move like tanks, but they also behave as general physics objects.

It would not be difficult to extend it, for example, to allow you to draw a turret and slap it on. Its more of a question of how much flexibility you guys want :)

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Thwip  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:21 pm

Wow…I’d love (and pay) to play it in it’s current format…can’t wait for the real deal!

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darkiewonder  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

Oh that’s a neat little tech demo.

I know it’s 2D. will it be possible to do things in 3D? or at least 2.5D? ;o

That would be neat for a silly PSN Game ^^

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Gyroxide  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:30 pm

I had seen a previz video for the PS3 Eye Toy before it was called the eye. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L17O43X39cg Are we going to be seeing anything like what was shown in that video?

I love the tank game, and I hope something like this is released on the playstation store. The only unfortunate part about it is that if you didn’t buy the Eye with EOJ, you wont have the stand.

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Seanscythe2  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:34 pm

dude this would be so much fun I want it NOW! but make it have ingamexmb and scustom sound tracks lol!

But really this would be sweet I’d like to see the 360 pull this off. LBP will be so cool if we can bring in our own images and use them for other then stickers.

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Richard Marks  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:35 pm

Yes, just to add to Anton’s comments:

@Jebus13: Anton is the guy in the videos; no one in SCEA R&D worked directly on Little Big Planet.

@tearsofash: We are definitely looking at various ways to deploy this tech, but Anton literally just made this! What you are seeing is VERY raw, demos run right at the researcher’s own desk.

@Toadzter17: For the game tech demos, the games are coded to expect a certain number of game objects. When the drawings/items are “scanned”, they are assigned to those game objects. For the lunar lander example, the game expects a lander and a landscape. The object higher on the page is automatically assumed to be the lander :) I think the real beauty of Anton’s work is in how easy it is to scan the drawings/objects.

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JmChile  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

hey please release this!!! thus may avtually make me buy the PS3 EYE!!!!

PLEASE DO!!!

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MTCP  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:40 pm

Wow, you guys have to make games out of this,
integrate it into Little Big Planet,
i would love to draw some stuff into that game,
that’s one sweet tech you guys have there,
i really hope you guys will integrate this into Little Big Planet and make some games with this feature.

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Goodfella2487  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:42 pm

Anton, you are a complete pimp.

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eksMAN  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

thats phucking awesome!

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KeyWii  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

Wow! Some amazing potential there guys, keep at it!

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Saiken  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

You guys are awesome! you could even like sell these games in the playstation network in a package, they could even be online, think of the possibilities guys, your creativity is fun and amazing. Thanks for your replies too. :)

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chainlink13  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:51 pm

Okay, I now need a PS Eye.

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jigglywiggly  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:51 pm

I’d echo what people are saying about putting this stuff in LittleBigPlanet. You should present the tech to MediaMolecule. It’d be cool to see it in a post-release patch, and it’d really open the floodgates as far as user created content is concerned.

Man, you guys have awesome jobs.

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Cody_L  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:54 pm

I hope that We can get these released on the PS Store. I know you guys said they were Tech Demos, but I still think it’d be fun to play around with them.

Anywho keep up the fantastic work.

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OrganicShadow  |  November 14th, 2007 at 12:57 pm

OMG Please make this into a product ASAP! I would buy this in a heart beat. Endless adventures and fun limited by your own imagination via the camera. My only fear would be that you guys would release it too early and it would be very short on features and capabilities. I think with as long as we have been waiting for LBP I would wait just as long for this to surface if it can offer my and end to boredom on lonely weekends.

Questions(hopefully you can answer):
-How can it tell where to “cut” around an object?
-How can it tell that your drawing of a tank has a turret etc.? Or was that custom programmed?
-Would it be possible for users to use the camera and/or this app to take photos of stuff on white backgrounds, and it be cut out and saved off somewhere for use as an avatar, or perhaps an object/texture/sticker in Little Big Planet?(sorry, i know you don’t work on LBP, just asking theoreticals)

Thanks guys. This MADE MY DAY!

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NinjaR  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

Those videos are impressive. Its nice to see you guys from R&D come out from the underground. I thought you’d be a bunch of older men.

Anyways, if you want to read more feedback about that tech demo aside from the blog, click here
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=208217

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BradleyUK  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:13 pm

Video never work on here for me :-(

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willywhisky  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

Hey, I have a question.

It looks like you’re planning to use the PS Eye to extend the user interface.

Will the PS Eye be used as an interface device using gestures?

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u_nick  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

VERy imressive guys. Cant wait to see what develops out of this. Hell, I’ll take the Tank game as-is!

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ps3andlovinit  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

Our kids love drawing stuff all the time..

For them to see something THEY drew come to life is a very powerful teaching/feedback tool…

Agree with others.. make it available even as a tech demo..I’m sure it would wow friends and family for them to see this first hand…

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Johnny Sasaki  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

Those are very awesome :D

Just those short videos are showing so much untapped potential that the PS Eye has, and I’m really hoping it uses at least 50% of that, because I think the original EyeToy had a lot more potential than was exploited, and I’d hate to see that happen again.

Good stuff, Anton & Richard! :)

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ghamdikh1  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:22 pm

You guys are awesome, is there any passablete to add our self’s by using PlayStation Eye in the games to be like characters in anRPG game for simple.

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Totobeni  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:22 pm

Dear Richard Marks and Sony

PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ give us this amazing PSeye tech game as downloadble game on PSN

PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ

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MICHELBRAVO  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

This is wonderful. I never thought this could be possible. I like the whole idea. You guys should release something like this on the ps3 store so we could try it and have some fun too. What else could you do with it?.

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KBlade  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:33 pm

Amazing! The possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to see the end product. The fact is, you don’t even need to have fancy graphics and what not because the concept is so genius. With this and LBP, we may never need to buy any other game again ;)

Bravo!

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Vip3r  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:34 pm

Sony, listen up, if you release this this year or early next year I’m telling you, it’ll shift a LOT of Eye toys and PS3s. Christmas is a great opportunity for this so get advertising in all regions before then.

I for one will be getting an Eye toy now!

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Daver  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:34 pm

This is amazing! whatever how the product will end, its gonna be a must buy… Sony is so innovative and different than others companies not to name them ahem…

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Shiloa  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:35 pm

It’s cool but it’s software based? I’m sure that could be pulled off with any camera.

Also, this being a tech demo it means little to the end user. Is there any chance of seeing anything like this (preferably more advanced or integrated into games like LBP) for release in the future?

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Kraken  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

This is awesome guys. Amazing to see what can be done and the potential this has.

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gran  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:36 pm

just awesome

never thought I would buy the PS Eye, but I’m starting to think that I have to..

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scorpio  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

Wow, that looked like fun. Scan in your own thing and fight with it LOL…

This is why I got a PS3, new ideas…

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illegalprelude  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

To the Tech team who put this out, its really nice to see creative things like this coming out. I think thats what sets the PS3 aside from other systems and PSN from other gaming services so thank you for that.

What I hope is that though that the creative side of the PS3 can mix with the marketing part of the PS3 and show people how diverse this system can be. From Video chatting, to motion controller to the multi core processor are allowing this to be a very open system but Tech Temo’s themselves are not enough (and I know your not trying to sell systems by this demo) but its the fact the PS3 has alot to offer already and because of poor marketing and handling of it, its been thought of as the heavy kid on the block.

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kanyn  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

Ho. Lee. Cow. Those videos are amazing. Get these to the PSN asap!

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Solace  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:49 pm

Now THAT is innovative.
Way to go, guys. Lookin’ forward to seeing this in future games.

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robmv  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

I think that what this video shows is that Sony just need to create some kind of developers toolkit free accessible to anyone, so people can begin to experiment new ideas for game development. I will really love to be able to write crazy things for my PS3. A developer toolkit allowing people to learn and share code and ideas with other owners of the toolkit can create a new generation of game developers.

Something like the XNA Creators Club of MS, but for our beloved platform

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stennex  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:53 pm

Wicked! Really fracking asome. That is definitely using the some serious power from both the Cell and RSX chip.

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PS Eye Tech Demo - Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo gaming blog - Geekpulp.co.nz  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:54 pm

[...] Some of the R&D people from Sony have posted some videos on the Playstation Blog. The videos show some really cool programs that were created to use the PS Eye and the PS3. Some are very simple and others are just to demonstrate the recognition and processing abilities that will be included in future titles. Very promising to see what could be possible. Link [...]

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GordyNYC  |  November 14th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

This is the reason why I bought a PS3 over the competition. You guys are creating new types of gameplay interaction and not just upgrading what’s been done before(Halo3). Eye of Judgment is innovative and just plain fun. Its a shame the commercial doesn’t convey that. Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with next for the PSEYE.

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Gothdom  |  November 14th, 2007 at 2:05 pm

This can easily be turned into an upcoming thing to download on the PSN. Also, I want to say I have tried programming school and sucked utterly at it, so you’re all gods already, but Anton just became god of gods lol. Kudos to all of you. Could you think about turning the Zombies!! board game into a PSN title? (Twilight Creations Inc. already told me in a mail that they’d love to see that)

http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com

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