It looks like the Wii Minority Report technology creator Johnny Lee now has a rival. In a demo featured during the GDC 2008, Sony showcased its new head tracking system, which did away with all the extra peripherals like infrared gloves, and utilized a stock PlayStation Eye camera to track a person's movements. You can watch the demo by reading the full article.

Just how powerful is the Sony PlayStation 3 game console? We know for a fact that it can produce cutting-edge sound and graphics at a whim. We already know that it can help doctors fight tumors. Now we're about to find out that it's good enough to drive a car atop Colorado's Pike Peak.

Yep, and we're not talking about doing it in a racing game. We're dead serious when we say that you can take the back seat and the console will guide a car effortlessly when partnered with GPS, infrared cameras, stereo cameras and Yellow Dog Linux.

At the center of it all, of course, is the Cell processor which we've heard all too well about. Based on the same technology that fires up IBM's Power PCs, the Cell uses its mathematical muscle to do all the complex calculations at lightning-fast speeds to effectively pull off the automotive feat.

Racing's renowned team Axion will showcase this incredible development in the upcoming DARPA Challenge sponsored by the US Government. At stake is US$ 2 million to be won.

Axion has come close to winning the contest twice before as they ranked sixth a few years back and finished in at third in their last outing. Autonomous driving has always been their cup of tea but this time they want to add a little sugar to their spice by throwing in the high-end game console to the repertoire.

"We felt having cars drive themselves was getting a little too easy, so we threw the Sony PlayStation into our bag of tricks," says Axion team leader Bill Kehaly as he jokes around with the idea. The DARPA Challenge takes place on the 3rd of November in a venue yet to be announced.

Space on your PlayStation 3's USB ports getting sparse? We're letting the guys know that accessory manufacturer Nyko Technologies - known for their Intercooler line of accessories -  has just announced that they're now shipping two new products for the PS3 console: The ChargeBase, and the BluWave.

The ChargeBase accessory will allow users to allow PS3 owners to charge up to four SIXAXIS controller at once and, given that it uses a wall socket instead of a USB plug, should help free up some needed space on your console's USB ports.

The BluWave, on the other hand, is an infrared remote for the PS3's resident videophiles. This device should allow movie fans the ability control their PS3's Blu-Ray player with something a little more traditional than the aforementioned SIXAXIS controllers.

We don't have any info on these two device's prices - stick around in case we pick up more info in the upcoming days.

AV centric folks have a very understandable complaint about the PS3: why no IR receiver? Well, if you're one that chooses to ignore Sony's Bluetooth remote, and you're obstinate about using that costly IR remote, then you're probably going to want to read this post.

The folks at Remote Central has a workaround that will allow you to add infrared functionality to your big black console. You're going to need a PSX/PS2 Controller-to-USB adapter as well as an original Sony DVD remote for the PS2 (model SCPH-10172) with external IR receiver (model SCPH-10160).

It's going to be pretty ugly, but if you can live with that, and if you don't want to spend for the Bluetooth remote, then the resulting USB to adapter to IR receiver to IR remote workaround might just be for you.

For more detail on this solution, feel free to make use of your read-link below.

Well, there's nothing really revealing during the interview. We reported about the Fusion system before, and you guys had a lot to say about it. In this SPOnG interview, In2Games Director Harry Holmwood reveals a few more details regarding the system that SPOnG audaciously calls, "a potential Wii killer."

We, know, some of you Ninty fans are already going, "Wii killer?! How dare they!" Well, be patient, let's see what Holmwood had to say, and then let's see if SPOnG's claim is justified. And just so you know, they're talking the death threats against them lightly, and with a positive sense of humor. Holmwood says:

one kind soul emailed us to say (and I quote) "I really hope your company burns to the ground and you are all homeless one day" ...It's nice to know that 'platform passion' still lives on. I have fond memories of arguments along those lines when I was at school.

With that over, let's go to the details. Here we go.

Nintendo Copyists?!
His response to all the allegations that they're "Nintendo Copyists?" Well, he says that they were there first. Of course he notes that he would never accuse Nintendo of having copied them. He says that Wii Eliott and Steve were making tilt controllers way back in the mid-90s before discounting them for the experiences that they think gamers will really want in the long term.

Here's a technical comparison between the Wiimote and their Fusion technology in Holmwood's own words:

The Wii remote is a neat idea... there's basically an infrared "camera" in the handset which looks out for the infrared LEDs in the bar attached to your TV. When you're pointing at the screen, it's an elegant solution to giving the user an onscreen pointer, and can also determine the distance from the screen. Once you're not pointing at the screen, it obviously loses all that data. At that point, all it has is the 'accelerometer' which is a tilt sensor... accelerometers don't give you a 3D position, only information on the angle you're holding it at and, to a degree, acceleration. These are good for soft, slow controls (I remember playing WipeOut on PS1 with an "Airpad" which was an early tilt pad, and it worked pretty well) but, as soon as you move them quickly, you lose the data as it all gets scrambled.

We actually use a tilt chip in the Fusion to give us information about how you're holding the controller but it's the ultrasonics which is the really useful part: combining the two together gives something extremely powerful and intuitive.

Get the rest of the article after the Jump!