Sony patents mixing physical and AI-generated game controls
Sony describes a system that combines inputs from a physical controller with signals generated by a machine learning model. The system assigns specific buttons to each source and merges them so the game treats them as if they came from one single controller.
In the filing’s own words
An entertainment system includes circuitry configured to receive input signals from at least a first input device and a second input device, where each input signal corresponds to a control in one of the input devices, determine whether each input signal is included in a respective control subset allocated to the input device from which the input signal was received, determine if each input signal is an input signal to be utilised based on whether it is included in the respective control subset, treat input signals to be utilised from any of the input devices as input signals from the same single input device, and determine, according to a predetermined control scheme, a process to be executed based on the input signals to be utilised, and where the respective control subsets each comprise at least one control not found in the other control subsets, and the respective control subsets together comprise a full complement of controls for an input device.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving (i) one or more input signals from a physical input device, and (ii) one or more input signals from a virtual input device, each input signal corresponding to a selection of a control on a respective input device, wherein a machine learning model is configured to produce the one or more input signals from the virtual input device; determining that (i) the selected control on the physical input device that corresponds to the one or more input signals that are received from the physical input device is included in a control subset that is allocated to the physical input device, and (ii) the selected control on the virtual input device that corresponds to the one or more input signals that are received from the virtual input device is included in a control subset that is allocated to the virtual input device; and in response to determining that (i) the selected control on the physical input device that corresponds to the one or more input signals that are received from the physical input device is included in the control subset that is allocated to the physical input device, and (ii) the selected control on the virtual input device that corresponds to the one or more input signals that are received from the virtual input device is included in the control subset that is allocated to the virtual input device, providing the one or more input signals that are received from the physical input device and the one or more input signals that are received from the virtual input device as input signals from a same single input device.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
- Official title
- Entertainment system, a method and a computer program
- Patent number
- US12746460B2
- Application number
- 18354152
- Filed
- Jul 18, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 29, 2026
- Inventors
- 7
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
A63F 13/22 Human necessitiesA63F 13/211 Human necessitiesA63F 13/533 Human necessitiesA63F 2300/1018 Human necessitiesMore from Sony in AI & software
- Sony patents AI that plays video games in your style Oct 6, 2026
- Sony patents AI that swaps game visuals for accessibility formats Sep 17, 2026
- Sony patents AI that changes game characters based on your play Oct 1, 2026
- Sony patents method to turn 2D videos into high-detail 3D animations Oct 15, 2026
- Sony patents AI bots that mimic your friends' gaming styles Sep 8, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.