News of a Sony Computer Entertainment patent filing could give more details on its PlayStation 3 motion controller. While not being a new product announcement, the filing does show some of the ideas Sony might be considering.
The patent for an "Expandable Control Device Via Hardware Attachment" hints at various control schemes. Details from the patent, (found by Kotaku), reveal that the motion controller may offer the option to join two units together and add a secondary controller attachment to use a DualShock and motion controller at the same time.
There is also word of a biometric reader attachment, described as a "thumb reader used to validate the identity of the person holding the controller by analyzing the biometric data provided by the attachment." Microphone attachments and the ability to swap control faceplates were also mentioned, which would allow users to somewhat customize their controller.
Earlier this year we spoke to Paul Holman, SCEE’s vice president of research and development, at the Develop conference in Brighton where he told us that Sony’s aim was to give developers what they want. “Our primary focus is developers and what they really want for it. They have the added advantage that they’re generally multiplatform developers… Good multiplatform developers straight away compare this with other platforms more than we do and they say, ‘Wow, this is bloody precise when it maps you when you’re moving in front of it’.”