Sony granted patent for handheld with touchscreen and 'digital tactile pixels'
by Ross Miller 
{ Jun 29th 2008 at 1:00AM }
As for defining "digital tactile pixels," claims 19 through 30 of the patent suggest that vibration acts as the "tactile" response. As our friends at PSP Fanboy point out, it could be a long time before we see anything to do with this patent (assuming we ever do).
Fun fact: The patent lists former Sony executive Phil Harrison as the inventor. Harrison, now the Directeur Général Délégué at Infogrames, was with the company when the patent was originally filed in January 2008.
[Via PSP Fanboy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr.ESC @ Jun 29th 2008 1:03AM
In b4 flamewars!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uGAEv5VTKn8
*Runs.
Dave @ Jun 29th 2008 2:49AM
No flame war began... sorry.
WiiFTW @ Jun 29th 2008 1:04AM
PDS PHONE CONFIRMED!
Mr.ESC @ Jun 29th 2008 1:05AM
The touch screen is nice but seriously Sony should add another analog stick if they ever release a PSP2.
Is really necessary for games such as Medal of Honor heroes and other games.
grim-one @ Jun 29th 2008 1:30AM
Granted? They've only filed for the patent. Note the page title has "Application" in it.
mr bean @ Jun 29th 2008 1:35AM
Etch-a-sketch came out on the market in 1958; Maxwell Smart had a shoe phone back in 1964......so what else ya got to show us, Phil? just kidding! lol
samfish @ Jun 29th 2008 2:00AM
I wonder if that Get Smart movie is any good. I looooove the original series, but I can't imagine the movie possibly being anything less than completely awful.
mr bean @ Jun 29th 2008 2:33AM
Aw,no-it would never be the same at all. You see, those actors had the "fervour" of the times-they lived those times-so they would be able to bring out any nuances in the acting and know that it would be acceptable to the fans of the time. It would be like trying to replicate a fine pair of original Gucci slippers in a Korean sweatshop. Believe me, the times then were verrrrry different from now. I'm an old fogey who was around those times so I can remember it well. Trust me, it was a whole lot nicer and much more fun back then!
BIGGEN (LIVE-PSN: BIGGEN1103) @ Jun 29th 2008 9:26AM
it's kinda like steve martin doing a pink panther movie. but actually, i saw get smart and it's not half bad. i lol'd a few times. anne hathaway is sexy as hell. but the movie just 'missed it by THAT much.'
lukeR @ Jun 29th 2008 12:54PM
@samfish
If you take the movie as comedy. its pretty funny. but if you want it to be like the original series you might be disappointed. I thought it was solid though.
Dwag @ Jun 29th 2008 1:53AM
if its a PSp then Sony you need to get original if its a phone then it was about time I mean Verizon has hopped on the Iphone and Ds' touch screen sucess why not Sony and M$.
riggs @ Jun 29th 2008 2:36AM
verizon doesnt have the iphone, and if u mean theyre hopping onto touch screen phones then youre pretty late since touch screen phones has been around way before the iphone buddy.
mocax @ Jun 29th 2008 1:55AM
They're gonna sit on the patent and wait until somebody actually does the hard work, then sue their asses off.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Jun 29th 2008 9:39AM
Sony SOOOOOO has a history of this. I mean, 1998, Sony filed a patent that allowed control input via a tilting controller. Shortly after the patent was filed (it was awarded in 1999), Microsoft launched the Sidwinder controllers for PC. Yet Sony SOOOOOOOO stole from Nintendo on that one.
Sony is many things, but patent squatters they are not.
Dwag @ Jun 29th 2008 1:55AM
oh Yeah and Sony you can't compete with the Ds in the hanheld touch screen matket.
and i'm still waiting for M$ to jump in.
samfish @ Jun 29th 2008 2:06AM
"As for defining "digital tactile pixels," claims 19 through 30 of the patent suggest that vibration acts as the "tactile" response."
My cell phone does this. It makes it MUCH nicer using the touch screen/touch buttons (or whatever those are called). Still, I would hope they don't make a handheld gaming device that is basically JUST a touch screen. Even though the little vibrations are the difference between night and day, there's still nothing like pushing a button down to know you actually inputted a command.
Bluebrake @ Jun 29th 2008 3:03AM
Which phone is this? I've never heard of this technology. How does it work -- does the whole screen vibrate when it senses your finger over a "button," or do distinct parts of the screen vibrate?
As for giving the sensation of pushing a button, there are various possible ways in the works for how this might be simulated. Some major company a few months ago came up with a PDA or cellphone that does this by having the whole screen click down and up about a millimeter when you push it, which apparently worked remarkably well. Something like that wouldn't work with a multi-touch display, though, which is what you need for a game system. For that you'd need at least a few different areas of the screen capable of depressing independently, or better yet distinct depressable areas capable of forming and unforming on the fly as the screen layout changes. We're not quite there yet...
Bluebrake @ Jun 29th 2008 3:15AM
Which phone is this? I've never heard of this technology. How does it work -- does the whole screen vibrate when it senses your finger over a "button," or do distinct parts of the screen vibrate?
As for giving the sensation of pushing a button, there are various possible ways in the works for how this might be simulated. Some major company a few months ago came up with a PDA or cellphone that does this by having the whole screen click down and up about a millimeter when you push it, which apparently worked remarkably well. Something like that wouldn't work with a multi-touch display, though, which is what you need for a game system. For that you'd need at least a few different areas of the screen capable of depressing independently, or better yet distinct depressable areas capable of forming and unforming on the fly as the screen layout changes. We're not quite there yet...
Co @ Jun 29th 2008 11:19PM
"Which phone is this? I've never heard of this technology."
The LG Voyager a.k.a. iPhone's DADDY!
Anticrawl @ Jun 29th 2008 2:36AM
This is probably for their bullshit Mylo line of products.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Jun 29th 2008 3:42AM
yea i dont really get the aim of the Mylo. its essentially a PSP with a keyboard that doesnt play games. its a great looking device and it does do non gaming features better than the PSP but i still dont think its a very practical device.
Bluebrake @ Jun 29th 2008 2:53AM
Neat. Adding a touchscreen with different areas that actually responded to you with vibration would be a great way of advancing this thing over the DS. I say go for it.
fontainne @ Jun 29th 2008 5:39AM
Curiosity routed out this article on "digital tactile touch-screen feedback"
www.eetasia.com/ARTICLES/2007JUN/PDF/EEOL_2007JUN01_CTRLD_OPT_TA.pdf
essentially a rumble feature that provides different types of feedback based off the inputted action, multiple actuators/motors placed throughout the device could provide a wide range of responses.
fawazr @ Jun 29th 2008 5:44AM
Headline reads: "Copying Company Copies, Sues Customers For Doing Same"
Lord Bowser @ Jun 29th 2008 6:31AM
I like this idea.
glutto @ Jun 29th 2008 7:23AM
Jefe, what is a plethora?
el serpiente @ Jun 29th 2008 2:02PM
It's right next to the clitoris.
Faar @ Jun 29th 2008 10:21AM
Why are you [sic]ing "hand-held"? That's exactly the way you write hand-held.
It's never a good thing to try to look smarter than you really are. ;)
Martez @ Jun 29th 2008 11:28AM
^ Irony
kataztrophy @ Jun 29th 2008 12:12PM
This is so...uninteresting for some reason. Odds are, this will turn out to be for a Sony smart phone. All these would be "iPhone killers" have touchscreens.
Misquito @ Jun 29th 2008 5:59PM
To be honest. When i heard "digital tactile pixels" my mind went to a recent story i heard about self molding plastic that was on G4. Can't find the article on their site though.
hexhunter @ Jun 29th 2008 7:06PM
Hell, am I psychic? I had the same idea earlier this year. Well, actually, I may have got the idea from Engadget's prediction on what the Optimus Tactus would be, the "Keyless Keyboard".
Would this be like the PADDs from Star Trek, do you think?
If anyone has missed the point, a Tactile Pixel PSP would have no buttons on the face, the touch screen would cover the whole thing and virtual buttons would give a vibrational feedback into the tips of your fingers so you know where they are and how much pressure you are putting on them when not looking at them...
Did Phil Harrison say that he was a fan of Engadget or Joystiq before, I wouldn't be suprised if this is where they got the idea...
- Deus X Machina
bfc @ Jun 29th 2008 9:21PM
You'd think the "journalist/editor" would know the difference between a patent application and a granted patent... But then again, I just might be giving them a little too much credit.
Hardeep Singh @ Jun 29th 2008 11:55PM
This is old news, Mobile phone giant Nokia has already perfected a tactile feedback touchscreen where you actually feel the click, exactly the way you press a button.
http://www.symbian-freak.com/news/007/11/the_fifth_senses.htm
mari. @ Jun 30th 2008 12:26AM
I like that idea, I just have too much fun playing around with touch screen phones.
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jo @ Jun 30th 2008 5:36AM
for those, that techonology is called haptics
nokia is going to use its s60 touchscreen phone
when you touch the screen, the phone tilts to replace feedback.
handheld man @ Jun 30th 2008 12:52PM
dont getg me wrong i love sony but i hate when they try to copy the ideas of other companys (nintendo) to try to stay on top it seems like there just in it for the money not to show that they have good ideas and a good product ... i just think they should try to come up with a good idea for once and not try to just slap good graphics on a system and call it a day yah know?
Kyle @ Jul 1st 2008 3:29PM
hmm...
first, a six-axis controller after the Wii already came out with it...
and now, a hand-held system with a touch screen...
methinks that sony is getting rather pathetic.
they jus keep copying the good ideas from nintendo!!!!
seriously, whats next? sensor bars????
sony needs to develop their own freakin ideas!
the nintendo is kicking ass cuz its bout the players, and sony is lagging cuz they THINK they're bout the players. they jus keep trying to add too many things to make playstation an ultra-uber-system, and they fail!