PS VR2 Headset Could Use Haptics for Better Surround Sound

gamerant.com:

The PlayStation VR2 headset has been officially unveiled and Sony's plans to improve the device across the board are now confirmed. It's not just about the VR headset's screens, improved to 2,000x2,040 resolution per eye from 960x1,080, or an increase in the field of view from 100° to 110°. Sony's also improving the PS VR2's sensory technology, features that work with users' sight, hearing, and touch. That's what makes a newly published Sony patent tied to in-headset haptic sensors particularly interesting.

The «Positional Haptics via Head-Mounted Peripheral» patent was published on Friday, though it was initially filed internationally on April 8, 2021. The patent is based around building a system of haptic sensors into a given headset. The PS VR2 headset is not specifically mentioned, though the original PS VR headset is shown in a drawing as an example device. Rather, the patent references a «virtual» headset. This virtual headset's movement would move in the same «position and orientation» of the player's character in-game. In effect, it's describing a virtual reality headset.

PSVR 2 Could Use Gaze Tracking to Position the HUD rather than Head Movements

The patent itself describes using the haptics built into a given headset to communicate 3D audio cues to the player. More specifically, the patent describes using the haptic sensors in the headset to measure the player's head's relation to audio objects in a video game. With that in mind, a magnitude based on the distance to the audio object, frequency, and audio data based for that specific audio object would then be used to determine control of the haptic feedback of the sensors.

To summarize, it's a technology for introducing a feeling of touch to a video game