EA adds more technology patents to its accessibility program.
The newly launched patents focus on audio and voice processing technologies.
Electronic Arts is expanding its accessibility program by incorporating 23 new technology patents that are available for other companies and developers to use without the risk of incurring infringement lawsuits. This expansion more than doubles the total number of patents that EA has made available since launching its commitment in 2021. The patents include tools for voice and audio generation and recognition.
Kerry Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs at EA, commented in a statement that the company firmly believes that video games should be accessible to everyone. “Our industry-leading teams are always looking for new ways to make this a reality. By making this technology available to others, we continue to work towards improving accessibility and inclusion for gamers around the world by removing unintentional barriers,” she stated.
Among the examples of the open patents are systems that enhance voice recognition, generate expressive speech audio from textual data, and create a voice that mimics the player using minimal voice data samples. One system uses machine learning to make a player's voice sound more adult, while another "infers a player's emotion while playing a video game" and automatically adjusts the game's background music to better match their emotional state.
EA also highlights that these patents could be used to improve the experiences of players who have speech disorders or who have difficulties expressing themselves verbally, helping them communicate in a way that better reflects their age, emotion, language, and speaking style. Alongside this announcement, EA is launching a plugin for Unreal Engine 5 that allows the use of its photosensitivity analysis technology, IRIS, in the engine to help developers identify frames that could affect photosensitive players.