With hardware prices spiking in the past few months and no signs of the situation improving, the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix are set to cost significantly more than their predecessors, prompting more than a few gamers to consider alternatives to enjoy upcoming games. While cloud gaming has become a viable alternative, it only delivers a good experience with a good internet connection, but Sony may have solved this issue with new technology that uses AI to improve quality in a rather clever way.
“Techniques for reducing data content in an image, including receiving an image at a first data model, removing a plurality of image portions from the image, using a machine learning inference process implemented by the first data model, to thereby insert a plurality of holes in the image and inserting, using the machine learning inference process implemented, at least one anchor element into one or more of the plurality of holes, wherein each anchor element is representative of detail within the respective image portion,” reads the overview of thepatent by Sony published on October 29, as reported by Patentlyze.
In simpler terms, this patent outlines a technology that uses an AI model to punch a literal hole in a streamed video game scene and have another model rebuild it later, potentially eliminating issues deriving from a low-quality internet connection, including latency.
Going more in depth, this new technology utilizes first a decimation network running on the sender’s side. This network takes the image being sent to play, divides it into a grid with a score for each part, and uses these scores to determine which parts can be cut (those below a 0.4 score). A reconstruction network runs on the receiving device, filling the gaps without the player noticing. This technology is also quite versatile, as the network can be assigned a target image quality or compression level as input, which determines how many holes the decimation network bores into the image and how many are reconstructed on the receiving end.
Needless to say, this PlayStation technology could work wonders for cloud gaming as a whole, as the less data is sent over an internet connection, the more responsive the experience will be. On the other hand, there could be significant issues if the reconstruction network doesn’t work as intended, as AI could invent details that were never there in the original game scene.
Regardless of its caveats, this new PlayStation technology sounds as promising as others that leverage AI to improve gameplay, and could power a new affordable entry point into next-generation gaming, and potentially even improve the Remote Play experience on the PlayStation Portal, which has proven to be even more popular than Sony anticipated. For certain genres such as competitive shooters or fighting games where every frame matters, this technology will change little, but for single-player experiences that don’t require instant reactions, I can definitely see it working in some capacity.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack.
After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA’s president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3.
When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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