A recent patent from Sony outlines how the company aims to reduce latency in upcoming devices through an AI system supported by extra sensors.
Sony launched its initial upscaling tool, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), alongside the PlayStation 5 Pro. Although this upscaler boosts lower resolutions to 4K, advanced graphics features like frame generation often introduce extra latency. This can make games feel less immediate, even with more frames.
GPU makers AMD and Nvidia have addressed this with Radeon Anti-Lag and Nvidia Reflex, and now Sony seems poised to create its own approach.
Initially reported by Tech4gamers, Sony's patent WO2025010132, named “TIMED INPUT/ACTION RELEASE,” focuses on optimizing the “timed release of user commands” by forecasting the next button press.
Sony explains the need: “there can be latency between the user's input action and the system's subsequent processing and execution of the command. This in turn results in delayed execution of the command and unintended consequences in the game itself.”
The approach involves multiple elements working together: a machine-learning AI to anticipate upcoming inputs, paired with an external sensor, such as a camera aimed at the controller to detect impending presses. “In one particular example, the method may include providing camera input as an input to a machine learning (ML) model,” the patent states. “The camera input may indicate the first user command.”
Another option could involve the sensor as a controller button. Given Sony's history with analog buttons, this might appear in future controllers.
Though the patent's described tech may not appear precisely in the PlayStation 6—such ideas rarely do—it highlights Sony's interest in technologies that minimize latency while keeping games responsive, particularly with rendering tools like FSR 3 and DLSS 3 that increase frame delays on any platform.
This could especially enhance fast-paced games like shooters, demanding high frame rates and minimal delays. Still, its inclusion in future products is uncertain.
