Microsoft has recently submitted a patent for a wearable bracelet device that they are hinting could be used for “toys to life”-like gaming experiences similar to games such as Disney Infinity and Skylanders.
According to the patent published September 17, 2015, the device is made up of “interactive smart beads” attached to a “connecting element”. “The connecting element detects the presence of beads which are part of the fashion item and also beads which are part of nearby fashion items. The connecting element also autonomously generates interactions between two or more detected beads and transmits data about the interactions to a software experience so that a user can view a graphical representation of the interactions.”
Basically, it looks like these “beads” and “elements” can interact and see each other, then transfer the data to the console. If this sounds familiar, it should. In the video game industry you can see this type of interaction with games and devices such as Nintendo’s Amiibo, Disney’s Infinity and Activision’s Skylanders games and devices.
“In various examples each bead represents a character, environment, object, etc. and the software experience displays an animated story based on the characters, environments, objects, etc. represented by the beads involved in an interaction.”
Microsoft has been known in the past to patent technology that they do not use. Let’s see if anything comes of this.