The Sony PS5 controller, the DualShock 5 (opens in new tab), is shaping up to be one heck of a game pad if the list of patents we've seen has been anything to go buy. So far, the peripheral could be housing a microphone (opens in new tab) for use with PlayStation Assist (opens in new tab), as well as reading players' biometric data (opens in new tab) to enhance the gaming experience by tweaking in-game parameters based on heart rate and how clammy your hands are.
The latest patent spotted was actually filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (opens in new tab) in July last year, but was published just this week, and compared to the other potential features, seems much more basic, but is the next logical step in transforming our gaming habits and set up.
The patent is for a controller attachment, shown in use with the DualShock 4 (opens in new tab) that allows for wireless charging, and includes additional buttons that are either duplicates of those found on the controller, or that can be mapped to the player's preference. It may also light up to "indicate a state of a battery in the game controller, and/or to indicate a functional mapping of game controller keys to adapter keys."
The DualShock 4's Back Button Attachment (opens in new tab) sounds very similar, offering buttons that can be mapped to mirror the function of those already on the controller, along with an OLED display to show the button assignment and profiles.
The "wireless charging adapter...can snap onto a computer game controller [and]... be inductively coupled to a charging base to wirelessly recharge a battery in the controller.
"The adapter also can include one or more keys that mirror respective keys on the controller so that a gamer can remove the adapter with controller from the charging base, keep the adapter on the controller, and use both the controller keys and adapter keys to control a computer game."
- New PS5 video shows off next-gen DualShock 5 in action (opens in new tab)
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Wireless charging is commonplace on smartphones these days, and while there are charging cradles for the DualShock 4, pins can be accidentally damaged or broken, so transitioning to a more modern charging method makes sense.
It would be great to see this tech roll out with the DualShock 5, and maybe it's something Sony will address when it finally reveals the PS5 (opens in new tab). The console was set to be unveiled during February (opens in new tab), but with no word from Sony, we're all in a bit of a limbo state.
Microsoft on the other hand has been more than forthcoming, and you can read all about Sony's rival console, the Xbox Series X, right here (opens in new tab).
Source: WIPO (opens in new tab) via SegmentNext (opens in new tab)
