Microsoft patents a unique Under-Display Camera solution for phones and Surface tablets

2022 will be the year Under-Display Cameras enter the mainstream, but companies are still facing the challenge of meeting expectations regarding camera quality from the front-facing camera.

Microsoft has patented a unique solution which they call a Logo Camera.

Their solution would use an array of 4 cameras, and uniquely each camera would only be monochromatic and tuned to one of the 4 primary colours. This would allow most of the overlying colour pixels in the screen to be invisible to the camera.

Microsoft then proposes to use some of those pixels as a colour filter for the camera, which would be active when the camera is active.

This would show up as a pattern of colour on the screen overlying the lenses, which in Microsoft’s case would conveniently form a flag pattern, the logo of the company. This would of course also conveniently act as a camera active indicator, which is important for privacy, especially with unobtrusive under-display cameras.

The signal from the 4 colour-separated cameras would of course be fused into a single high-quality image which Microsoft says should show improved sensitivity to light and be less affected by the overlying screen.

I’m not sure Microsoft’s logo camera solution would work for any other company, but it is certainly a very unique approach. The full patent can be seen here.

via LetsGoDigital