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Nintendo Patents Projector That Displays Flat Images On Uneven Surfaces

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2016147731A1.html
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2016147731A1.pdf

Here is the abstract:

The present invention implements a projection system which appropriately corrects geometric distortion of a projected image even when an object to be projected has an arbitrary three-dimensional shape and a user's point of view is not fixed. A projection unit (3) of a projector device 100 projects a first adjustment test image. A three-dimensional shape measurement unit (4) measures a three-dimensional shape of the object to be projected. An image capturing device (200) captures the first adjustment test image projected by the projection unit (3), and acquires a first adjustment captured image. A projected image adjustment unit (1) executes: (1) first adjustment processing for, on the basis of the first adjustment captured image acquired by the image capturing device (200), correcting the image such that geometric image distortion is reduced at an image capturing point at which the first adjustment captured image was captured; and (2) second adjustment processing for, on the basis of a state when the image adjusted by the first adjustment processing was projected by the projection unit (3), correcting the image such that geometric image distortion is reduced.

Inventors:

TANAKA, Motoyasu (1-1 Miyahara 1-chome, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 〒5320003, JP)
HARAGUCHI, Yuki (1-1 Miyahara 1-chome, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 〒5320003, JP)
SHINGU, Fumiya (1-1 Miyahara 1-chome, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 〒5320003, JP)
KAWAI, Eizi (11-1, Hokotate-cho, Kamitoba, Minami-ku, Kyoto-sh, Kyoto 01, 〒6018501, JP)
HOSOI, Kazuhiro (11-1, Hokotate-cho, Kamitoba, Minami-ku, Kyoto-sh, Kyoto 01, 〒6018501, JP)

Assignee:

MEGACHIPS CORPORATION (1-1 Miyahara 1-chome, Yodogawa-ku Osaka-sh, Osaka 03, 〒5320003, JP)
NINTENDO CO., LTD. (11-1, Hokotate-cho Kamitoba, Minami-ku, Kyoto-sh, Kyoto 01, 〒6018501, JP)

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Love Nintendo for sticking to their core philosophy for 40 years and evolving it along, throughout all the changes in the industry as it grows. Looks like this is a very portable-friendly direction they're going. exciting stuff, hopefully it sees implementation
 

fvng

Member
This will be a potential cash cow for them well beyond gaming. They could get so much money licensing this tech out
to fund more bayonetta
 

Pif

Banned
Didn't Microsoft had a kinect tech demo pulling off the same?

Edit: using a projector alongside a kinect.
 

dickroach

Member
Huh. Who was that guy who was claiming the NX had a projector in that other thread?

there was some patent that Nintendo put in a while ago that had a projector like... in a controller or something? totally forgot about it till just now. damn this could be big.
 

Neiteio

Member
A projector would be great for projecting a 50-foot-tall hologram of Sith Lord Yamauchi, who we thought was dead but was really just biding his time in the shadows
 

Hydrus

Member
What if this thing is part of the dock. You can play on your TV, use it as a portable, or take the dock projector with you and play anywhere on anything
 
I'm down. So far. As long as I don't have to use a handheld like device for it.

I would assume that given Nintendo's thinking in the last 5 years, the idea for such a system (whether or not it actually gets used, like a lot of video game and tech patents) is along the lines of "you don't need a TV! Project the image from your handheld any place!"
 

Tathanen

Get Inside Her!
The patent in early August for what sure seems like the NX referenced a projector in the right side of the controller.

http://www.n-sider.com/blog/2016/08/nintendos-nx-could-be-a-super-game-watch

Now, about that "projector" from before—it’s on the same side as the sensors that interface with the controller attachments, and actually is a real projector! Again, according specifically to the patent, it can emit text or images onto the user’s hand or onto another surface. Theoretically, it could also project into a controller attachment. One could imagine an attachment which redirects the projected image with a mirror either onto a surface inside the controller (creating a miniature second display, kind of like old arcade games with a bottom-mounted monitor that projected up onto a piece of plexiglass), or out of the controller onto another surface like a wall.
 
Not saying this is for NX, but this comment from Yves Guillemot really intrigues me:

Yves Guillemot said:
They have built in something that will give us chance to really have a different experience from what exists today.

Also, this may be the type of thing that isn't necessarily present in dev kits, as you don't have to take it into consideration when developing. IF it is for NX, that may explain why we haven't heard about it from the Eurogamer/Emily leaks.

I'm probably reaching, but is Nintendo really concerned about competitors copying detachable controllers? And is that what Yves is so excited about?
 

Eliseo

Member
Playing splatoon on the street with a friend, instead of staring a the small screen you could just project the image on any wall!.
 

majik13

Member
Whats interesting, is that obviously this wont come to the NX at launch, but could come as a later add on, and could likely be used with future iterations of NX too.
 

Neiteio

Member
I would assume that given Nintendo's thinking in the last 5 years, the idea for such a system (whether or not it actually gets used, like a lot of video game and tech patents) is along the lines of "you don't need a TV! Project the image from your handheld any place!"
Most people are spazzy enough that they can't even hold their 3DS steady to see the 3D effect (prior to N3DS), so I imagine a projector would be problematic if it was shining from the handheld itself. "Keep your hands still!"
 

dickroach

Member
a 720p portable that you can dock and instantly transforms to a 1080p projector you can put on anything... completely eliminating the need for TVs. dude.
this is why the TV button on the Wii U did nothing! Nintendo hates TVs!!
 

Oersted

Member
Most people are spazzy enough that they can't even hold their 3DS steady to see the 3D effect (prior to N3DS), so I imagine a projector would be problematic if it was shining from the handheld itself. "Keep your hands still!"

There is already precedence for mobile devices using projectors.
 
This is probably find be used mostly at conventions and such so they can project stuff anywhere they want without having to take every nook and cranny into account.

Don't expect this to be used for anything home video game related in the future.
 
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