Nintendo Patent App Reveals DS Tracking System

A new Nintendo patent application uncovered from the USPTO reveals that the company plans to further extend the use of its gaming consoles in tour guiding. Nintendo had previously outfitted the Louvre so that its 3DS could guide tourists through the museum and now this new patent application shows plans to use the DS with an overhead tracking system to provide more extensive guiding functions.

Thought up by Shigeru Miyamoto, who is famous for the Legend of Zelda, the patent idea uses a system of overhead infrared transmitters that communicate with a portable gaming console, such as a Nintendo DS Lite. Users carrying the DS will be tracked from overhead as they move through a building. The device communicates with a server to trigger signs to light up or other mechanisms built into the building to guide the user.

Users can also pick their own paths through a building via a custom app on the console. The app will let the users view maps and read up on sightseeing suggestions. The patent was filed in January, but it doesn't necessarily mean that Nintendo will follow through on the idea and start wiring up museums with the new tracking system.

[via Engadget]