The patent is real; the banana controller is not a released PlayStation product. Sony Interactive Entertainment patented a camera-and-software system that could interpret the movement of an ordinary object, including a banana, as game input. The fruit would contain no electronics and would not transmit commands to a console. Based on the published patent record, there is no consumer setup, PS5 feature, or Sony accessory that lets you plug in a banana today.
What Sony actually patented
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s filing is titled System and method for generating user inputs for a video game. The earliest listed priority date is August 1, 2019. The U.S. application, US16/929,448, was published as US20210031110A1 on February 4, 2021, and the invention was later granted as US11759701B2 on September 19, 2023.
The patent record is marked active, although a database status label is not a substitute for legal advice. More importantly for players, a patent protects a proposed technical implementation; it does not announce that a product has entered development, passed testing, or gone on sale.
| Item | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Assignee | Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. |
| Priority date | August 1, 2019 |
| U.S. publication | US20210031110A1, February 4, 2021 |
| Granted patent | US11759701B2, September 19, 2023 |
| Core idea | Camera-based recognition and pose tracking of a passive object to generate game inputs |
That timeline also matters when a headline calls the idea “new.” The underlying U.S. application was published in 2021, and the grant followed in 2023; a later story may simply have revived an older filing.
#1 Best Overall
- Feel physically responsive feedback to your in-game actions through haptic feedback
- Experience varying levels of force and tension at your fingertips with adaptive triggers
- Chat online through the built-in microphone and connect a headset directly through the 3.5mm jack
- Switch voice capture on and off using the dedicated mute button
- Play on more devices using the USB Type-C cable or Bluetooth to connect easily to Windows PC and Mac computers, Android and iOS mobile phones as well as your PlayStation 5
How a banana could become an input device
The banana is the visible object in the patent’s examples, but the technical idea is broader: a camera watches an object held by a player, and software converts its visual movement into commands.
- Image capture: A camera records the player and the object.
- Object detection: Computer-vision software identifies the relevant object in the image.
- Pose estimation: The system estimates changes in position, orientation, contour, or apparent size.
- Input generation: Those changes are mapped to actions in a game.
The specification describes the tracked item as a passive, non-luminous object. It does not need batteries, buttons, Bluetooth, internal position sensors, or a wireless transmitter. The camera and processing system—not the banana—would interpret the movement.
Color and contour tracking
One proposed approach filters the camera image for expected colors, such as yellow for a banana or orange for an orange. The software can create a binary mask, find contours, and select a relevant contour as the held object. A line or similar representation along a banana’s length can provide measurements for orientation and movement.
Rank #2
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- Adaptive triggers - Experience varying levels of force and tension as you interact with your in-game gear and environments. From pulling back an increasingly tight bowstring to hitting the brakes on a speeding car, feel physically connected to your on-screen actions.
- Built-in microphone and headset jack - Chat with friends online using the built-in microphone or by connecting a headset to the 3.5mm jack. Easily switch voice capture on and off at a moment’s notice with the dedicated mute button. Internet and account for PlayStation Network required.
- DualSense Controller PS5 and PC compatible. Not compatible with PS4.
- PS Remote Play requires Remote Play App connected to Wi-Fi, PS4 or PS5 console with the latest system software and compatible game. A PS4 or PS5 console with a wired connection via a LAN cable is recommended. Version 4.0 of the Remote Play App on iOS and iPadOS or version 4.1 on macOS is required for games to be playable with the controller over Bluetooth.
Calibration and machine learning
The player might hold the object in a reference pose for approximately one second. Later movement could then be measured relative to that starting position. The claims also allow machine-learning models trained to recognize poses of passive, non-luminous objects.
What the patent’s examples include
Bananas are an easy-to-picture embodiment, not the boundary of the invention. The document also mentions oranges, mugs, pens, glasses, and other ordinary objects.
- One object: A player could move or rotate a banana-like object to trigger mapped actions.
- Two objects: Examples include two bananas, one in each hand, or two oranges.
- Multiple players: Objects could be assigned using image position, distance, depth, or detected user identity.
- Virtual controls: An augmented-reality view, head-mounted display, transparent display, or other screen could show virtual buttons over the object.
Virtual buttons would not make the fruit a tactile gamepad. A player would still need to perform a gesture, touch an overlaid control, or use another interaction method. The patent’s strongest natural fit is motion and gesture input rather than precise physical button presses.
Rank #3
- Ultra Customizable Controls
- Mappable Back Buttons
- DualSense Wireless Controller Features Built In
- Replaceable Stick Modules and Caps
Why use an ordinary object?
The proposed design could avoid manufacturing a dedicated electronic peripheral. That suggests possible advantages such as lower hardware cost, alternative input options for some players, and a way for another person to join a game without a second conventional controller. It also opens unusual game designs in which different poses or gestures represent different actions.
Those are design possibilities described or implied by the patent, not benefits validated by a published consumer trial. The filing does not provide user-testing results, accuracy measurements, or a supported game list.
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Does it work on PS5?
There is no evidence in the cited records that PS5 supports banana controls. The patent uses a PlayStation 4 entertainment device as an illustrative system and says the approach could also apply to a next-generation PlayStation 5 device. That is a possible implementation, not confirmation of a PS5 feature or accessory.
Rank #4
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No public consumer setup procedure, system setting, developer kit, or Sony announcement was identified for this capability. Do not expect a PlayStation Camera to become a plug-and-play banana controller, and do not follow a supposed PS5 menu path based solely on the patent drawings.
Sony’s official PlayStation patent-marking page lists commercial products such as PS5 and DualSense; it does not establish a banana controller as a product. Sony’s official licensing program likewise describes the normal route for licensed PlayStation peripherals, not this experimental concept.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Could camera tracking work reliably?
A working implementation would face ordinary computer-vision problems that the memorable headline tends to hide.
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Best Value
- Bring gaming worlds to life, Feel your in-game actions and environment simulated through haptic feedback (Available when feature is supported by game)
- Experience varying force and tension at your fingertips with adaptive triggers (Available when feature is supported by game)
- Find your voice, share your passion, chat online with the built in microphone (Available when feature is supported by game)
- Connect a headset directly via the 3.5mm jack
- Multi-device connectivity, connect using a USB Type-C cable or Bluetooth technology and easily play on more devices
Lighting and background
- Dim light can obscure the object.
- A yellow or orange background can confuse color segmentation.
- Overexposure, similarly colored clothing, or other fruit can create false matches.
- A partially hidden banana may not produce a complete contour.
Hands, shape, and calibration
Fingers and thumbs can cover the outline the software is trying to detect. Bananas also vary in length, curvature, ripeness, markings, and size. Machine learning may improve recognition, but the patent gives no consumer accuracy figure. A calibration pose could reduce ambiguity, yet it would add setup time and would not solve every occlusion or background problem.
Precision and latency
Moving or rotating a banana can express broad gestures, but it cannot naturally reproduce analog-stick micro-adjustments, rapid button combinations, shoulder-trigger travel, force feedback, or haptics. Camera capture, image processing, and command transmission also introduce delay. The patent discusses real-time or near-real-time operation but supplies no guaranteed latency number.
Privacy, space, and durability
The camera would need a suitable view of the player and enough room for movement, with stable lighting and some form of calibration or player selection. A banana is fragile, slippery when peeled, and poorly suited to repeated pressing or rough handling. The visual novelty is clear; the practical durability is not.
What the “banana controller” headline gets wrong
- “Sony released a banana controller”: The evidence is a patent, not a retail product.
- “The banana sends commands to the console”: The camera and software interpret the banana’s movement.
- “You can do this on PS5 now”: The filing mentions PS5 as a possible system but supplies no public implementation.
- “Sony just patented this”: The application was published in 2021 and granted in 2023.
- “The invention is a banana”: The broader concept is recognizing passive objects and using their detected pose to generate input.
What this patent may signal
Read cautiously, the filing points toward research in computer vision, unconventional interfaces, accessibility-oriented input, multiplayer onboarding, and augmented-reality controls. It does not show that Sony intends to ship the system, that a game is being built for it, or that a product launch is imminent.
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The verdict
Sony really did patent a system that could use a camera to recognize a banana or another passive everyday object and translate its movement into game input. The fruit would not contain electronics, and the patent does not establish a released accessory, a PS5 setting, or a consumer setup. “Banana controller” is an accurate shorthand for one proposed embodiment, but it is not a PlayStation product you can use yet.
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