The PlayStation VR2 headset can track its accompanying Sense controllers thanks to a bunch of IR LEDs hidden in the orb-shaped controllers, according to new teardown videos Sony posted Tuesday night.
Beneath the Sense controller cover, the controller itself has a ring of 14 IR LEDs and three positioned elsewhere for tracking, as shown in the Sense teardown video. “These infrared lights are used by the VR headset’s tracking camera to detect the position and orientation of the controller,” Sony’s Takeshi Igarashi, who also designed the DualSense controller, explain in the video. “The LEDs have been placed in optimal locations to ensure they are accurately detected no matter which direction the driver is facing.” And the controllers’ casing is even made with a material that “transmits internally emitted infrared light to track controller movement,” she says.
The Sense teardown video also shows off the five capacitive touch sensors on the controller, a look at the adaptive wake component (which works just like it does on the DualSense), and even that there are little PlayStation button icons etched into the controller.
And for the headphones themselves, that teardown is cool too; I was delighted to see Takamasa Araki, the lead designer of PSVR2 (and the first PSVR!), expertly disassemble both the front of the headset and the headband. I would particularly recommend rubbing for 6:07 or so, where you can see what the inside of the headset looks like when you turn the lens adjustment dial. Oh, and the headset’s eye-tracking feature? As Araki shows, there’s an IR LED around each lens and an IR camera that captures the light from the LED, and they work together to track your eye movements. Super cool.
I really recommend you watch both headphones and the controller The teardowns are fascinating. However, Sony cautions against attempting to disassemble them yourself, noting that disassembling your hardware will void your warranty.
