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Posts Tagged ‘Placed’

Smartphone front cameras might soon be placed underneath the display

21 Jan
Photo by Julián Gentilezza

With smartphone displays getting larger and moving to an 18:9 (or 2:1 if you prefer) aspect ratio and display bezels shrinking at the same time, there is hardly any space left at the front of new devices for physical controls or other components.

Physical home buttons and fingerprint readers have already largely disappeared from the front and moved to the rear or edges of devices; however, moving the front camera to the rear isn’t really an option (for obvious reasons) which is why devices like the iPhone X or the Essential Phone have ended up with unsightly notches at the top of their displays.

A new patent by Samsung could offer a solution: moving the front camera and other components, such as the earpiece and proximity and ambient light sensors, underneath the screen. A camera that can see through the display would also offer an additional advantage, allowing manufacturers to place it towards the center of the screen so that the camera and the face of the person you’re talking to would be roughly in the same spot.

While Samsung’s idea definitely looks like an elegant answer to the space limitations at the front of modern smartphones, nobody has built a suitable camera yet. That said, an earlier patent that has been referenced by Samsung, Apple and LG among others, suggests using an OLED display with a very high refresh rate. The system could then activate and deactivate the screen at a very fast rate and allow for camera recording during the inactive periods.

As usual with patents, there is no way of knowing if and when the technology will make it into a production device, but the idea of a totally seam- and bezel-less display is certainly an appealing one.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Glittering Wave-Shaped Concert Hall Placed Atop Old Warehouse Building

26 Jul

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

herzog de meuron concert hall 1

German concertgoers are so excited about the stunning new Elbphilharmonie building in Hamburg by architecture firm Herzog & De Meuron, they’re already snapping up tickets for the first events scheduled after its inauguration on January 11th, 2017. The glittering wave-shaped addition is a bold ultramodern example of adaptive reuse, delicately hovering over an existing brick warehouse building to assist with soundproofing its 2,100-seat arena. The project is finally nearing its completion after nearly a decade of construction, with all of its interior fittings set to be in place in time for its handover to its operators on October 31st, 2016.

herzog de meuron concert hall 2

herzog de meuron concert hall 4

With anticipation building for such a long time, it’s a good thing the final result is so impressive. Located in Hamburg’s Hafencity quarter on a peninsula jutting out onto the River Elbe, the complex not only mimics the adjacent surface of the water, it literally mirrors it with 1,100 panes of reflective cladding punctuated by convex elements and D-shaped windows reminiscent of fish mouths. Reflective basalt grey dots prevent the structure from overheating and add to the shimmering effect.

herzog de meuron concert hall 3

herzog de meuron concert hall 5

The complex also houses a 250-room hotel, 45 private apartments, two additional concert halls and a public viewing area with panoramic vistas of the waterfront. Reusing the old building pays tribute to the neighborhood’s industrial past even as Hafencity – a new urban redevelopment scheme that enlarges the Hamburg City Center by 40 percent – blossoms as a cultural hub. The scheme is seen as a blueprint for Hamburg’s development into the 21st century, reestablishing it as a modern maritime city.

interior 2

interior

Inside, the careful selection of state-of-the-art materials helps explain the long delay in construction, as an organically textured white ‘skin’ made of dense gypsum-fiberboard panels enhances acoustics and makes the space even more visually expansive. Other details, like a flowing glass wall on the panoramic ‘plaza,’ continue the aquatic theme.

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[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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