Microsoft files patent, looks to real-time biometrics for a new dimension of multiplayer gaming

Microsoft has just filed a patent for real-time biometrics in gaming, thrusting the world of multiplayer gaming to a whole new dimension, patentbolt reported Tuesday.

The patent, available here, outlines a system in which players can join a game already in progress, just by entering the room. The invention captures a temporal sequence of images of the face of a user at different locations inside a three-dimensional interaction space and relates this information to a user profile stored on the device.

As the patentbolt report states, “although [this] technology could be adapted to all kinds of computer systems such as tablets and smartphones, Microsoft’s true focus is on real-time biometrics as it relates to multiplayer gaming.”

A frustration of many gamers, the process of adding a new gamer to any gaming situation almost always requires ending your session, selecting a player profile and restarting game-play.

Specifically, this most recent patent relates to Microsoft’s immersive next-generation gaming system now in the works, previously reported by the BBC.  Using a depth camera, this system will be configured to generated three-dimensional image information, such as the four walls in a user’s living room, for a totally immersive experience. A new user walks into the space, and they could quickly become a part of your adventure.

As we reported in May, Microsoft has toyed with biometrics in the past, filing a patent earlier this year for an Xbox controller with a pressure-sensitive surface able to login in a user through biometric recognition.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  depth camera  |  Microsoft  |  patent  |  real-time biometrics  |  Recognition  |  Xbox