Is this Sony playing catch-up to Microsoft's Project Natal? It may be developing a system that lets you control the PS3 with real world objects, like coffee mugs, glasses, bongs, and books.

This isn't the motion controller wand we saw at E3. It looks a little more like Microsoft's Project Natal, except you'd actually be using physical objects—anything you had lying around—as a motion controller.

The object (demonstrated in the diagram by that U-shaped-looking thing) is mapped into the system by rotating it in front of the camera, and saving it as a file.

If this sees the light of day, I give it 24 hours until we see the first YouTube video of someone playing Killzone with their Chihuahua.

I also wonder if Sony will comment on this patent when it coughs up more details on its E3 announcements at the Develop Conference on July 14.

[Siliconera via Kotaku]

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