The primary component of PlayStation Move, the PlayStation Move motion controller, is a wand controller which allows the user to interact with the console through motion and position in front of a PlayStation camera.[4] It functions similarly to the Wii Remote.
The PlayStation Move features a variety of internal sensors to gauge orientation.
The PlayStation Move motion controller features an orb at the head which can glow in any of a full range of colors using RGB light-emitting diodes (LEDs).[11] Based on the colors in the user environment captured by the camera, the system dynamically selects an orb color that can be distinguished from the rest of the scene. The colored light serves as an active marker, the position of which can be tracked along the image plane by the camera.[12][13] The uniform spherical shape and known size of the light also allows the system to simply determine the controller's distance from the camera through the light's image size, thus enabling the controller's position to be tracked in three dimensions[13][14] with high precision and accuracy.[fn 1] The simple sphere-based distance calculation allows the controller to operate with minimal processing latency,[17] as opposed to other camera-based control techniques on the PlayStation 3.[18][fn 2]
A pair of inertial sensors inside the controller, a three-axis linear accelerometer and a three-axis angular rate sensor, are used to track rotation as well as overall motion.[12][15] An internal magnetometer is also used for calibrating the controller's orientation against the Earth's magnetic field to help correct against cumulative error (drift) by the inertial sensors.[19] In addition, an internal temperature sensor is used to adjust the inertial sensor readings against temperature effects.[20] The inertial sensors can be used for dead reckoning in cases which the camera tracking is insufficient, such as when the controller is obscured behind the player's back.[11]
The controller face features a large oblong primary button (Move),[21] surrounded by small action buttons (, , , ), and with a regular-sized PS button beneath, arranged in a similar configuration as on the Blu-ray Disc Remote Control. On the left and right side of the controller is a Select and Start button, respectively. On the underside is an analog trigger (T).[11] On the tail end of the controller is the wrist strap, USB port, and extension port.[22]
The motion controller features vibration-based haptic technology.[11] In addition to providing a tracking reference, the controller's orb light can be used to provide visual feedback,[11] simulating aesthetic effects such as the muzzle flash of a gun or the paint on a brush.[23]
Using different orb colors for each controller,[11] up to four motion controllers can be tracked at once on the PlayStation 3.[23] Demonstrations for the controller have featured activities using a single motion controller, as well as those in which the user wields two motion controllers, with one in each hand.[12][24] To minimize the cost of entry, Sony stated that all launch titles for PlayStation Move would be playable[needs update] with one motion controller, with enhanced options available for multiple motion controllers.[25]
On the PlayStation 3, image processing for PlayStation Move is performed in the console's Cell microprocessor.[17] According to Sony, use of the motion-tracking library entails some Synergistic Processing Unit (SPU) overhead as well an impact on memory, though the company states that the effects will be minimized.[26] According to Move motion controller co-designer Anton Mikhailov, the library uses 1-2 megabytes of system memory.
