Possible Sensor Failure?

louielu12 · 05-09-2007, 10:38 PM

Ok, as you probably all know, there are three state-of-the-art sensors in the iPhone. One to adjust the screen brightness, One to tell if your ear is next to it to turn off the touch screen, and one to sence whether it is being held virtical or horizontal. Don't get me wrong i love the iPhone and would love one, but i can think of at least one possible malfunction with each one! First the light sensor. what if someone shines a bright light on the screen and suddenly it goes darker and you cant see it? what will happen then? Second, the "ear sensor". so lets say you have a case on the iPhone (assuming one would work with the touch screen) or you for some reason need to hold it by the top where the sensor is. wont the sensor sence this blunt object presence and shut the screen off? Third, the verticle/horzontal sensor. lets say you are on an airplane with turbulence or in a car on a bumpy road. the iPhone would be bouncing up and down (maybe slightly side to side). will the iPhone think it has been tilted and change the screen? and for that matter, what if you put it on a table or a flat surface? how will it know which way to put the screen? I hope someone will be able to help me figure this out. thanks

ckontyko · 05-10-2007, 02:43 AM

For the light sensor case: When a bright light hits the light sensor, it increases the screen brightness. When there is no light on the sensor, it decreases the screen brightness. As an example, when you take an LCD screen outside, it tends to wash out in sunlight, so in this case the sensor would increase the brightness of the screen to increase the difference between the sunlight and the screen back-lighting. If you were then to take the same LCD screen into a dark room, the screen would be blindingly bright (compared to the surrounding dark room), so the sensor decreases the brightness of the screen to decrease the difference between the screen back-lighting and the dark room. So your scenario (bright light/darker screen) could never be replicated on the iPhone (it works opposite).

For the ear sensor case: I don't know. I assume cases will have to accommodate the sensor (i.e. not block the sensor)

For the orientation sensor cases:

Re: Bouncing- won't affect the orientation sensor. For visualization purposes, think of a track laid out in a diamond formation (as opposed to an oval, NASCAR formation). Imagine a steel ball riding snugly in this diamond-formation-track. When the ball rolls to each point of the diamond, the sensor registers an orientation change (portrait to landscape or vise versa), and rotates the screen. Now, if you shake the track up and down or side to side, the ball is trapped between the walls of the track, and cannot move to the next point of the diamond. So the sensor will not change screen orientation.

Re: Table/Flat Surface- I have a Canon Digital Elph camera that has this same orientation sensor. The screen will rotate (portrait/landscape) as long as the camera is held between 30 deg and 150 deg from horizontal. If I set the camera down on a table (0 deg or 180 deg from horizontal), the camera will hold the last orientation, no matter how I spin it (cw, ccw). So if I set the camera down on a table and decide I want to change the screen orientation, I just pick up the camera, rotate it, and set it back down. It's pretty intuitive, once you actually have the camera in front of you. I'm sure the iPhone will operate the same way.

HTH....
-CJ

Bootlessjam · 05-10-2007, 04:03 AM

I hope that when you are outside or somewhere really bright, the backlight will turn off completely. I pretty much have my iPod's backlight always off, since outside the sun lights up the display better than the backlight, and it saves A LOT of battery.

It would be cool as well if when you are playing music and you put it in your pocket, the poxcimity sensor turns the screen off and puts it on hold.

louielu12 · 05-10-2007, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by ckontyko

For the light sensor case: When a bright light hits the light sensor, it increases the screen brightness. When there is no light on the sensor, it decreases the screen brightness. As an example, when you take an LCD screen outside, it tends to wash out in sunlight, so in this case the sensor would increase the brightness of the screen to increase the difference between the sunlight and the screen back-lighting. If you were then to take the same LCD screen into a dark room, the screen would be blindingly bright (compared to the surrounding dark room), so the sensor decreases the brightness of the screen to decrease the difference between the screen back-lighting and the dark room. So your scenario (bright light/darker screen) could never be replicated on the iPhone (it works opposite).

For the ear sensor case: I don't know. I assume cases will have to accommodate the sensor (i.e. not block the sensor)

For the orientation sensor cases:

Re: Bouncing- won't affect the orientation sensor. For visualization purposes, think of a track laid out in a diamond formation (as opposed to an oval, NASCAR formation). Imagine a steel ball riding snugly in this diamond-formation-track. When the ball rolls to each point of the diamond, the sensor registers an orientation change (portrait to landscape or vise versa), and rotates the screen. Now, if you shake the track up and down or side to side, the ball is trapped between the walls of the track, and cannot move to the next point of the diamond. So the sensor will not change screen orientation.

Re: Table/Flat Surface- I have a Canon Digital Elph camera that has this same orientation sensor. The screen will rotate (portrait/landscape) as long as the camera is held between 30 deg and 150 deg from horizontal. If I set the camera down on a table (0 deg or 180 deg from horizontal), the camera will hold the last orientation, no matter how I spin it (cw, ccw). So if I set the camera down on a table and decide I want to change the screen orientation, I just pick up the camera, rotate it, and set it back down. It's pretty intuitive, once you actually have the camera in front of you. I'm sure the iPhone will operate the same way.

HTH....
-CJ

Wow! you seem to know your stuff! The light sensor will probably be fine because if the light goes off of it, it will adjust right away. There will have to be some care taken with the ear sensor. As for the oriantation sensor, what that camera has sounds perfect. because you may want to keep it one way while seeing it another. if you spin the camera really fast in either direction, does the sensor piece spin and think it is being held a different way?

Cantwait4iPhone · 05-11-2007, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by louielu12

Ok, as you probably all know, there are three state-of-the-art sensors in the iPhone. One to adjust the screen brightness, One to tell if your ear is next to it to turn off the touch screen, and one to sence whether it is being held virtical or horizontal. Don't get me wrong i love the iPhone and would love one, but i can think of at least one possible malfunction with each one! First the light sensor. what if someone shines a bright light on the screen and suddenly it goes darker and you cant see it? what will happen then? Second, the "ear sensor". so lets say you have a case on the iPhone (assuming one would work with the touch screen) or you for some reason need to hold it by the top where the sensor is. wont the sensor sence this blunt object presence and shut the screen off? Third, the verticle/horzontal sensor. lets say you are on an airplane with turbulence or in a car on a bumpy road. the iPhone would be bouncing up and down (maybe slightly side to side). will the iPhone think it has been tilted and change the screen? and for that matter, what if you put it on a table or a flat surface? how will it know which way to put the screen? I hope someone will be able to help me figure this out. thanks

Well, these are pretty good questions. For the light sensor, tell the person to shut off the darn light. For the proximity sensor, take the case off. And finally, for the last one, tell the plane to stop bouncing.

A little input from me

Don't take this in a bad way, just messing with ya. These are very good questions, and I think ck did a great job of answering them. So that leaves me to joke around.

ckontyko · 05-18-2007, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by louielu12

if you spin the camera really fast in either direction, does the sensor piece spin and think it is being held a different way?

I don't know... let me try it when I get home.

-CJ

BoxKrait · 05-18-2007, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by ckontyko

I don't know... let me try it when I get home.

-CJ

I can see your next post now..
"I spun my camera around, and it fell off the table. Now the screen doesn't work."

Anyways, why would you spin your phone around really fast?
If someone grabbed at mine really fast, I would take away their iphone handling privleges.

louielu12 · 05-18-2007, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by BoxKrait

I can see your next post now..
"I spun my camera around, and it fell off the table. Now the screen doesn't work."

Anyways, why would you spin your phone around really fast?
If someone grabbed at mine really fast, I would take away their iphone handling privleges.

i do that all the time when i bored. not too fast but i kinda put one finger on each side and pin it around

BoxKrait · 05-18-2007, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by louielu12

i do that all the time when i bored. not too fast but i kinda put one finger on each side and pin it around

*raises hand*
Guilty of that.

Going to try and not do it to my iphone.

louielu12 · 05-18-2007, 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by BoxKrait

*raises hand*
Guilty of that.

Going to try and not do it to my iphone.

haha. yea if i get an iPhone (rly hope i do!) then i will deffinately not do that cause the screen would get smudged so easily!