New Sony Patent Could Use AI and a Camera Pointed at Your Fingers to Work Out What Button You’ll Press Next

Sony's latest patent hints at a revolutionary approach to minimizing latency in future gaming hardware. The patent, WO2025010132, titled "TIMED INPUT/ACTION RELEASE," leverages AI and additional sensors to predict player inputs, thereby streamlining command execution.

Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro already features the PSSR upscaler, but technologies like frame generation introduce latency. Competitors AMD and Nvidia have addressed this with Radeon Anti-Lag and Nvidia Reflex, respectively, and Sony appears poised to enter the fray with its own solution.

As reported by Tech4gamers, the patent focuses on predicting the next button press. Sony acknowledges the inherent latency between player input and system processing, leading to delayed execution and potential gameplay issues. Their proposed solution involves an AI model trained to anticipate player actions, combined with an external sensor.

The patent suggests a camera focused on the controller as one sensor option, using its input to feed the AI model. Another possibility involves utilizing controller buttons themselves, potentially leveraging analog inputs – a technology Sony has championed in the past.

While the patent's specifics may not directly translate to the PlayStation 6, it reveals Sony's commitment to reducing latency without sacrificing responsiveness. This is particularly crucial given the increasing popularity of frame generation technologies like FSR 3 and DLSS 3, which often add latency.

The benefits would be most noticeable in fast-paced games requiring both high frame rates and low latency, such as twitch shooters. However, the ultimate implementation of this technology in future hardware remains uncertain.