In the hotly contested smartphone market, photography can be a major battlefield. Coupled with insatiable desires to improve batteries’ quality, durability, storage and handling continuously ranks As a major factor when choosing a phone.
At CES 2023, Belgium-based startup Spectricity unveiled a new entrant in the competition: the S1 chip.
Spectricity claims the S1 is the first truly miniaturized, mass-manufacturable spectral image sensor for mobile devices — and the company is targeting sector dominance. Within two years, Spectricity boldly expects the sensor to be inside every smartphone.
The upside stems from a single focus: measuring “true color” in smartphones. According to Spectricty, this is something that the best smartphones still can’t do.
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The problem stems from deficiencies in their white balance software, which is used to remove unrealistic color tones. Our natural vision system does this very well. When we see a white wall under sunlight or a fluorescent lamp, our brain adjusts the color temperatures to make both scenes appear white. Smartphones try to do the same, but the results are often disappointing.
“None of these cameras can recognize true color.
Limited by the three RGB color channels of red, green, and blue, the automatic white balance algorithms struggle to correct abnormal color temperatures. As a result, photos taken under incandescent bulbs can appear more orange than under sunlight, while shaded areas may appear bluer.
“Although there is significant processing power behind these cameras, none of them can recognize true color,” Vincent Moret, CEO of Spectricity, tells TNW.
To solve this problem, the S1 sensor uses additional filters to analyze the spectral signature of an object. After sensing the light source in the image, the system performs color correction accordingly.
The spectrophotometer showed the effect of TNW in a live show. Under different lighting conditions, the images produced by the S1 were compared to images taken by high-end smartphone cameras.
While the results of the demos aren’t always quite as replicable in real life, the colors the S1 rendered looked much more consistent under varied lighting.
“With our solution, you can get the same colors whatever the lighting condition,” says Michael Jacobs, Spectricity application engineer.
The sensor’s ambitions extend far beyond better photos. Because the S1 can capture the full visible range and near infrared at video rates, imaging can improve many mobile applications. Spectrum envisions using the sensor for remote cosmetics, e-commerce, identity verification, skin health analysis, and even smart gardening.
A key component of these plans is to improve the S1’s skin tone performance. Smartphone cameras Has bad reputation In capturing dark skin, which limits the inclusiveness of the photos. It also blocks any apps that use skin analysis, from detecting skin cancer to virtual make-up.
Getting familiar with S1 to darker skin can broaden access to benefits.
The smartphone giants are also pouring their fortunes into color accuracy, but critiques say they still can’t compete with the S1’s sensor. This confidence stems from a long and narrow scientific focus.
Spectrum started life as a spin-off Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC), a research laboratory for nanoelectronics and digital technologies. This connection has helped the startup secure 19 patents and 66 active applications, as well as 13 PhDs on their team.
To commercialize the innovations, Spectricity has created a high-volume manufacturing line in X-FAB foundry – now ready for mass production.
The S1 is currently undergoing evaluation by major smartphone makers. middle global decline In mobile device sales, Spectricity is betting that the sensor provides them with an irresistible advantage.