Story Highlights
- Sony has published a patent that detects if users have a visual impairment and automatically changes settings.
- It discusses multiple methods to detect if a user is visually impaired. One way is to add a test in games.
- Each user with a different level of visual impairment could have their in-game settings changed accordingly.
Sony has been the leading figure in bringing many accessibility features to the gaming industry. It also wants to automate many of these features, as evident by its patented systems. One such legal doc published by the company seeks to automate the detection of visual impairment in users to adjust the settings for them. The dynamic system wants to ensure that every player with visual impairment can have the best experience.
The patent dubbed “AUTOMATED DETECTION OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND ADJUSTMENT OF SETTINGS FOR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT” will employ a system to find whether a player has a visual impairment and change the settings accordingly. Sony discusses using a variety of methods to discover if a user is visually impaired, including checking the system settings of a PC or console to see whether specific settings were used.
A user’s experience using an application may be improved through the use of vision settings from other applications and diagnosis of visual impairments through interactive games. Applications running on a user’s device each may have vision settings set by the user. Each application may have its own vision settings that differ slightly from each other,” reads the patent.
The settings it may utilize include the size of font and icons, magnification, crosshair settings in games, and the sort. Each visually impaired user would have different settings, and Sony would account for that while altering the in-game settings.
Another method discussed by Sony is to add a vision test game to check the user for one or more visual impairments. The test would consist of different minigames, such as one to detect the type of colorblindness or to pinpoint the exact visual impairment faced by the player. The findings could be imported into the game to have the system automatically modify the settings for the player.
Users may not realize they have a visual impairment and the vision test games may provide a convenient tool to improve the user experience without having a professional optometrist diagnose the user.”
The patent argues that there is no effective way currently to automatically adjust the settings for a visually impaired player in the game. Moreover, Sony would use the discovered details to possibly change the settings of every game, making it a universal solution.
The conglomerate has previously published a variety of unique patents. It recently secured a system to create a massive co-op game that supports hundreds of players in a theatre. Additionally, the publisher has also shared a patent to add a one-hand mode to its existing controllers.
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