Newly discovered PS5 DualSense patent could solve drift issues for good

techradar.com:

A Sony patent reveals that a new DualSense could include revamped analog sticks that utilize hydraulics for precision input.

Both the PS5 and the DualSense have had their fair share of issues post-launch. There's currently a lawsuit underway, alleging the console released with a known defect. Meanwhile, the DualSense hasn't escaped drift issues with a US law firm filing a class action lawsuit over them last year (via IGN(opens in new tab)). That seems to have fizzled out, with related pages removed from the company's website(opens in new tab). But controller drift issues (and getting sued over them) could become a thing of the past for Sony.

Metro(opens in new tab) spotted a patent(opens in new tab) filed by Sony for a controller with «a collapsible control stick using a fluid». The fluid in question is non-Newtonian – think custard, ketchup, quicksand. Or in this context, something that's not a condiment, dessert, or mini deathtrap. It's a fluid that changes viscosity under force. So ketchup becomes runnier when you shake, for example. Whereas you can fill a pool with custard and run across it without sinking, perfectly demonstrated in this Brainiac: Science Abuse episode(opens in new tab). 

The portion of the patent that dives into the background of the invention picks apart joytsticks, analog nubs, and thumbsticks. It breaks down the comfort and portability of each, before concluding:

«The thumbstick is more comfortable for the user than the analog nub and is smaller than a joystick but is still not very portable. The protrusion of the thumbstick sticks up from the surface of the controller and can easily be caught [in] clothing or other thin materials making the thumbstick prone to breakage.

»It is within this context