Sony patents tech similar to Nvidia's DLSS, could include it in PS5 consoles to achieve higher FPS counts in 4K games

One of the more intricate ways to make use of A.I. nowadays is to improve digital image quality via reconstruction techniques assisted by machine learning algorithms. Nvidia was among the first to implement such techniques in its RTX 2000-series launched in 2018 with the Deep Leaning Super Sampling (DLSS) feature that essentially allows lower resolution image samples to have almost the same level of detail as a native higher resolution image sample, while providing smoother FPS counts. AMD is also rumored to be working on something similar for the upcoming RDNA 2 GPUs launching later this year, and it looks like Sony may also introduce a more advanced image reconstruction feature in future devices like the upcoming PS5 consoles.

Sony’s current checkerboard rendering engine was created with the same end-results in mind for the PS4, but, due to the limited hardware power of the console, the techniques used are less complex than Nvidia’s DLSS and thus the results are inferior for reconstructed 4K images. However, as revealed by a new patent filing with the FPO, Sony is now working on an improved image reconstruction engine that can most likely better leverage the more powerful hardware integrated with the PS5.

The patent description is a bit esoteric, but it describes similar techniques to those used by Nvidia for DLSS: “An information processing device for acquiring a plurality of reference images obtained by imaging an object that is to be reproduced, acquiring a plurality of converted images obtained by enlarging or shrinking each of the plurality of reference images, executing machine learning using a plurality of images to be learned, as teaching data, that include the plurality of converted images, and generating pre-learned data that is used for generating a reproduction image that represents the appearance of the object.”

We are still skeptical that the hardware chosen for the PS5 console can deliver 4K games running at 60 fps, or, even more far-fetched, 120 fps as Sony was boasting on multiple occasions, but such an advanced DLSS-like engine could at least make 60 fps @ 4K more of a mainstream thing for the next gen consoles. DLSS 2.0 already does a pretty good job for PC users, and Sony’s new image reconstruction implementation may be corroborated with AMD’s solution that is to be included in the RDNA 2 GPUs inside the PS5 consoles.