Updated Patent Suggests Nintendo Switch 2 Could Feature AI Upscaling Technology

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An updated patent filed by Nintendo suggests that the upcoming Switch 2 could feature AI upscaling technology.

A Nintendo patent for a computer system that converts images into another resolution has been published, indicating that the Switch 2 could feature AI upscaling technology. The computer system is described as a display device configured to display images of a video game.

The technology described in the patent, which is titled ‘Systems and methods for machine learned image conversion’, relates to using machine learning to convert one dataset or signal into another dataset or signal. More particularly, the technology described relates to applying block transforms to such datasets or signal. Applications of the technology include converting images of one resolution into another (e.g., higher) resolution and may be used in real-time applications from images generated by, for example, a video game engine.

According to the patent, the a processing system used to perform upscaling includes at least one hardware processor that is configured to:

1. generate, in connection with execution of a video game, a first image that is at a first resolution;
2. select a first block of pixels from the first image and add context data around the first pixel block to create a first context block;
3. generate a first plurality of input channels based on the first block of pixels and the added context data that forms the first context block;
4. insert values from each of the first plurality of input channels into a first activation matrix;
5. apply the first activation matrix against a trained neural network to generate a second activation matrix;
6. generate, based on the second activation matrix, a second image that is in a second resolution; and
7. output, for the video game, the second image to a display,

Back in September, 2023, Nintendo was looking to hire a Data Engineer to help with integration of machine learning technologies on low-power embedded platforms, suggesting that it may have had something to do with the Switch successor. Read about it here.