New sensor promises to bring 'real color' to smartphone photos

During CES 2023, which took place in January of this year, the Belgian startup Spectricity introduced the new S1 sensor, the first capable of capturing “real color” images on smartphones. According to the company, not even the best smartphones on the market today can reproduce colors faithfully to the real world.

The competition among premium smartphones on the market has camera quality as one of its pillars, and Spectricity's S1 sensor arrives to change the competition. The company claims that this is the first sensor of spectral image really miniaturized and that can be mass-manufactured for mobile devices and he also says that he intends to lead the industry very soon. With a bold move, they want this technology to be on all smartphones in about two years.

“We believe there is a real opportunity to develop and use a spectral imager in a smartphone. Despite all the progress made with different cameras and the computing power of a smartphone, no one can really identify the true color of an image.”

Vincent Mouret, CEO of Spectricity

What's wrong with the current colors?

There is a problem with current cameras that occurs due to deficiencies in their recording software. white balance, used to remove unrealistic color tones. Our natural vision has a “system” that does this function very well, for example, when we see a white wall in sunlight and another in the light of a fluorescent lamp, our brain adjusts temperatures colors so that both walls look completely white.

Os smartphones try to do the same thing, but usually don't deliver as good results. As a result, photos taken under incandescent light may appear more orange than if they were taken in sunlight, while areas with shadows may appear bluer, detracting from the realism of the colors in the image.

What is this new spectral imaging sensor?

Most mobile device cameras use RGB sensors, which consist of three colors (red, green, and blue), but the S1 sensor performs an in-depth analysis of visible light and the near-infrared range to check an object's spectral signature — which in short is its ability to reflect — to reproduce more natural and consistent colors. Furthermore, they utilize a considerably improved white balance function. In general terms, this means that, regardless of lighting, images taken by a cell phone with the S1 sensor will have more realistic colors.

In tests carried out by the company, the colors reproduced by the new S1 chip sensor appeared much more consistent in various lighting conditions. But it is important to highlight that the results of the demonstrations are not always 100% replicated in real life.

“With our solution, you can have the same colors regardless of the lighting conditions.”

Michael Jacobs, Application Engineer at Spectricity

Plans for the sensor

The company has a vision beyond improving images on cell phone cameras to the sensor. As the S1 chip can capture the entire visible color range and part of the infrared range, it is also possible to use the function for video. In this way, technology has the ability to enhance various mobile device applications. The startup conjectures the use of the sensor for the areas of cosmetics, e-commerce, identity verification, skin health analysis and even smart gardening.

Another key part of the plans for the sensor is the use of the S1 for improved rendering of skin tones. Smartphone cameras have several difficulties capturing darker skin tones in photos, which limits inclusion and is already object of study of companies like Google. Today's sensors also make it difficult for apps to perform skin analysis, from detecting melanoma to virtual makeup on non-white skin tones. The S1 chip's ability to recognize the colors of darker skin tones can expand access to many tools.

Currently, the technology of Spectricity It is being evaluated by the main smartphone manufacturers and it is not yet known when it will begin to be included in devices, but the company has already set up a high-volume manufacturing line and is ready for mass production. Amid a global drop in cell phone sales, the company is betting that the sensor offers a giant revolution to the market.

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Source: The Next Web

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