PlayStation Eye

The PlayStation Eye (trademarked PLAYSTATION Eye) is a digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 3. The technology uses computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the camera. This allows players to interact with games using motion and color detection as well as sound through its built-in microphone array. It is the successor to the EyeToy for the PlayStation 2, which was released in 2003.

This article is about the PlayStation 3 accessory. For the PlayStation 2 accessory, see PlayStation EyeToy. For the PlayStation 4 accessory, see PlayStation Camera.
PlayStation Eye
DeveloperSony Computer Entertainment
Product familyPlayStation
TypeGaming webcam
GenerationSeventh generation era
Release dateOctober 2007
Camera
ConnectivityUSB 2.0 (type-A)
PlatformPlayStation 3
Dimensions80 mm × 55 mm × 65 mm
(3.25" × 2.12" × 2.5")
PredecessorEyeToy
SuccessorPlayStation Camera
Related articlesPlayStation Move, EyeToy, Xbox Live Vision, Kinect

The peripheral was launched in a bundle with The Eye of Judgment in the United States on October 23, 2007,[2] in Japan and Australia on October 25, 2007[3][4] and in Europe on October 26, 2007.[5][6]

The PlayStation Eye was also released as a stand-alone product in the United States,[7] Europe,[5] and Australia.[8] EyeToy designer Richard Marks stated that the EyeToy was used as a model for the rough cost design.[9]

The device is succeeded by PlayStation Camera for PlayStation 4.

Features

Camera

The PlayStation Eye is capable of capturing standard video with frame rates of 60 hertz at a 640×480 pixel resolution, and 120 hertz at 320×240 pixels,[1] which is "four times the resolution" and "two times the frame-rate" of the EyeToy, according to Sony.[10] Higher frame rate, up to 320×240@187 or 640×480@75 fps, can be selected by specific applications (Freetrack and Linuxtrack).

The PlayStation Eye also has "two times the sensitivity" of the EyeToy,[10] with Sony collaborating with sensor chip partner OmniVision Technologies on a sensor chip design using larger sensor pixels, allowing more effective low-light operation.[9] Sony states that the PlayStation Eye can produce "reasonable quality video" under the illumination provided by a television set.[10]

The camera features a two-setting adjustable fixed-focus zoom lens. Selected manually by rotating the lens barrel, the PlayStation Eye can be set to a 56° field of view (red dot) similar to that of the EyeToy,[10] for close-up framing in chat applications, or a 75° field of view (blue dot) for long-shot framing in interactive physical gaming applications.[1]

The PlayStation Eye is capable of outputting video to the console uncompressed,[1] with "no compression artifacts";[10] or with optional JPEG compression.[1] 8 bits per pixel is the sensor native color depth.

Microphone

The PlayStation Eye features a built-in four-capsule[1] microphone array, with which the PlayStation 3 can employ[10] technologies for multi-directional voice location tracking, echo cancellation, and background noise suppression. This allows the peripheral to be used for speech recognition and audio chat in noisy environments without the use of a headset.[1] The PlayStation Eye microphone array operates with each channel processing 16-bit samples at a sampling rate of 48 kilohertz, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 90 decibels.[1]

Applications

Like its predecessor, the EyeToy, the PlayStation Eye enables natural user interface and mixed reality video game applications through the use of computer vision (CV) and gesture recognition technologies implemented in the software. Though initial PlayStation Eye software has mostly been based on the same general techniques as the EyeToy (e.g. simple edge detection and color tracking, Digimask face mapping),[fn 1] since the announcement of the forthcoming camera-based PlayStation Move and Kinect (then known as "Project Natal") control systems at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo,[11][12] Sony has been promoting a number of other technologies available for the PlayStation Eye.[13] Among these are the Vision Library,[14] which can perform advanced facial recognition/analysis and CV-based head tracking,[12] and PSVR (PlayStation Voice Recognition), a speech recognition library intended to support about 20 different languages.[15] According to Sony; the facial technology can identify features such as eyes, mouth, eyebrows, nose, and eyeglasses; read the shape of the mouth and detect a smile;[13][fn 2] determine the position and orientation of the subject's head; and estimate the age and gender of the face.[11]

In addition to gaming-oriented uses, Sony has stated that the PlayStation Eye will also feature applications for tasks such as interactive communication and content creation (e.g. movie-making and video blogging). An AV Chat feature allows for audio-visual chat with anyone on a user's PlayStation Network friends list (up to six at once[16]). Additional free content and activities are planned for release via the PlayStation Network.[7]

EyeCreate

The PlayStation Eye features free EyeCreate video editing software,[5] which enables users to capture pictures,[7] video, and audio clips directly to the hard drive of the PlayStation 3 console. EyeCreate features a variety of different capturing modes, including stop motion[17] and time-lapse.[1] Through the software, users can edit, save, and share their own custom images, movies, and audio content.[7]

Videos created using the program can be exported as MPEG-4 files for use outside PlayStation 3 consoles.

PlayStation Move
Main article: PlayStation Move

First revealed on June 2, 2009, PlayStation Move is a motion control system for the PlayStation 3 based on video tracking and inertial sensors.[18] Based on a wand controller, PlayStation Move uses the PlayStation Eye to track the wand's position in three dimensions through a special illuminated orb at the end. The controller was released in the EU, UK and USA in September 2010, with an Asian release date listed as October 21, 2010.

Compatible games

The following are some PlayStation 3 games with camera functionality, some of which may not be specifically developed for the PlayStation Eye. The PlayStation Eye does not support EyeToy compatible PlayStation 2 games.

PC drivers and applications

While there is no official support or drivers by Sony to run the PlayStation Eye on other platforms such as personal computers, there are community-supported drivers available for Mac OS,[fn 3] Linux,[fn 4] and NetBSD[fn 5] and a commercially available driver for Windows.[fn 6]

A video capture and analysis application is available for Windows.[fn 7]

See also

Footnotes
  1. One notable exception is The Eye of Judgment, which uses CyberCode visual tagging.
  2. See facial expression capture.
  3. Working drivers for MacOS can be downloaded from http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/ and https://github.com/inspirit/PS3EYEDriver/
  4. There is support for the camera in Linux kernel 2.6.29.[28] Drivers for earlier kernels can be downloaded from http://kaswy.free.fr/?q=node/38#ps3.
  5. A working driver is included with NetBSD 5.0 and above, see http://man.NetBSD.org/cgi-bin/man-cgi?pseye++NetBSD-current for more information.
  6. A working driver for Windows XP and Vista can be downloaded from http://codelaboratories.com/downloads
  7. A video capture and analysis application for Windows can be downloaded from http://www.heath-studios.com

References
  1. "PLAYSTATIONEye Brings Next-Generation Communication to PLAYSTATION3". us.playstation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment America. April 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  2. Valledor, Mark (September 20, 2007). "5 Things You *Don't* Know: THE EYE OF JUDGMENT". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  3. "The Eye of Judgment（アイ・オブ・ジャッジメント） Biolith Rebellion ～機神の叛乱～" (Adobe Flash). jp.playstation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  4. "Eye of Judgment". au.playstation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  5. "PlayStation Eye to launch on November 7". Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  6. "PlayStation Eye Street Date". SPOnG. SPOnG. October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  7. Stocker, Sarah (October 10, 2007). "PlayStation Eye, A Little More Info…". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  8. "PLAYSTATION Eye". au.playstation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  9. Croal, N'Gai (April 30, 2007). "Geek Out: The Playstation Eye is Nearly Upon Us. Dr. Richard Marks Takes Us Behind the Scenes of its Birth". N'Gai Croal's Level Up. Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  10. "PlayStation Eye - Q+A". Three Speech. ThreeSpeech.com. April 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  11. French, Michael (16 July 2009). "Sony developing PSEye facial recognition software". Develop. Intent Media. Retrieved 17 July 2009. Some of the advantages boasted by Microsoft's Natal controller are already in the PSEye, Sony said today.
  12. McWhertor, Michael (2009-06-19). "Sony Spills More PS3 Motion Controller Details To Devs". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2009-07-17. Sony boasts that the 'face-tracking and head-tracking capability already in the PS3 SDK' will offer developers 'powerful tools for new types of user interaction.'
  13. Kumar, Mathew (16 July 2009). "Develop 2009: SCEE's Hirani Reveals PS Eye Facial Recognition, Motion Controller Details". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 17 July 2009. We have a wealth of libraries available, and the chances are you won’t have to develop any technology yourself.
  14. Kentarou Suzuki (10 September 2009). Vision Library for PlayStation Eye (podcast). DigInfo TV. Event occurs at 1:03. Archived from the original (Flash Video) on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  15. Kentarou Suzuki (8 September 2009). PlayStation 3 Voice Recognition – PSVR (podcast). DigInfo TV. Archived from the original (Flash Video) on 2010-08-29. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  16. "PLAYSTATIONEye". PlayStation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  17. Lutton, Greg (October 11, 2007). "EyeCreate in Action" (Flash Video). PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  18. "Sony Computer Entertainment America announces an unparalleled software line up, launch of the PSP go system, and new services for PSP (PlayStation Portable) and PlayStation Network at E3 2009". Sony Computer Entertainment. 2009-06-02. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  19. "PlayStation Store Update (PlayStation Blog)". Retrieved 2008-01-25.
  20. "The future of PLAYSTATION Network revealed". uk.playstation.com. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. August 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  21. "Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08". info.ea.com. Electronic Arts. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  22. Mason, Kevin (July 16, 2007). "Your SingStar Questions Answered!". SingStar developer blog. IGN. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  23. "Facial import". Psu.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-22. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  24. "EA Revs Up Burnout Paradise With Innovation and Style" (PDF). Electronic Arts. September 21, 2007. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 29, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
  25. "PlayStation Global" (in Dutch). Ps3.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  26. Ubisoft. "Features | Rainbow Six Vegas 2 | Ubisoft". Rainbowsixgame.us.ubi.com. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  27. "Okami HD - Playstation 3, PS3 game". Sony Computer Entertainment Eupoe. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  28. Chehab, Mauro Carvalho (2008-12-29). "V4L/DVB (9712): gspca:Subdriver ov534 added". The Linux Kernel Archives. Linux Kernel Organization. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
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