Sony has made great strides with the DualSense controller this console generation, introducing haptic feedback and adaptive triggers into the mix as standard features in all PS5 games, and it seems the company plans to keep innovating where its controllers are concerned. A recently filed patent, spotted first by Exputer, might be pointing to just that.
The patent describes a controller using an “elastically deformable” material instead of plastic – essentially a more malleable gel-like material – that can be used to further “enrich” haptic feedback experiences. It would do that by being able to “present the material of a virtual object in a game space to the user as a haptic sensation”.
On top of that, the patent also describes the inclusion of a “a temperature control apparatus such as a Peltier element capable of electrically changing temperature”, which in turn could be used to “present the temperature of the virtual object as a warm/cold sense” contextually outputting electrical signals to emulate the in-game temperature of an object that a players comes into contact with.
Of course, patents don’t necessarily always come to fruition with actual products, and often end up being little more than companies protecting their ideas and technologies. But given Sony’s long history with innovating with its controllers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see something like this coming to light in a future controller.
Back in 2020, Sony filed a similar patent for a controller that would track users’ biofeedback through heart rate and sweat, among other things. Read more on that through here.