You probably see one or two black dots to the right or left of your selfie camera. Those tiny yet noticeable dots have been an unavoidable part of smartphone design for the better part of decade. And they might finally be going away.
Those dots are your phone's proximity sensors. Their presence means the phone can detect, among other things, when the user is holding the device up to their face to make a call. The sensors tell the phone to dim the screen when that happens, ensuring your cheek doesn't accidentally hang up on someone as you press the phone to your face.
So phones need proximity sensors, but do they have to be black and ugly? In the case of optical sensors, the answer is yes. In the case of ultrasonic sensors, it's a resounding no. In fact, if the device uses ultrasonics, the tech can be built right into the audio components of the speaker, meaning it wouldn't need any additional sensors at all. And it would be even more accurate.
That's exactly what Elliptic Labs claims to have created. The Oslo-based startup has developed a way to turn the phone's built-in microphone and earpiece into an ultrasonic proximity sensor, meaning those extra black dots on the front of our smartphones could be scrubbed away permanently.
"You have to have these holes on your device, and manufacturers are trying to make their devices symmetric and having a difficult time," says Laila Danielsen, CEO of Elliptic. "We are using ultrasound, and we're using the current components that you have in phone."
If you have a Samsung phone, you're all too familiar with the twin sensor dots above your display, and other Android brands don't fare much better. The iPhone only has one sensor dot, but that's an illusion; Apple actually paints over the other sensor with a micro-perforated coating. Apple holds a patent on the technique, so other manufacturers have been reluctant to copy it.
There are other reasons to switch to ultrasonic. Using the technology means phone designers can ditch the optical sensors altogether and get back some precious space within the phone for other stuff (like bigger batteries). That has cost savings, too. And Elliptic claims its ultrasonic sensors are actually more reliable than optical ones.
"What we're seeing is we're outperforming the optical sensor," Danielsen says. "That's not really shocking because you have more capabilities around ultrasound you have a wider field of view and we can fine-tune ultrasound much more than you can with an optical light sensor."
Of course, all this depends upon phone manufacturers partnering up with Elliptic Labs, but the company says it already has agreements with five smartphone makers two of them major global brands with more signing up.
A prettier smartphone is only the beginning for the company. Danielsen sees replacing optical sensors as a "Trojan horse" that will pave the way for ultrasonic gesture control and, ultimately, an Internet of Things play. The company was mum on details about that, promising an announcement at this year's Mobile World Congress at the end of February.
Those are some big dreams, and who knows if they'll be fulfilled. But at least, in eliminating one of the uglier necessities of smartphone design, Elliptic Labs appears to have succeeded in making the Jony Ives of the world sleep a little better at night.
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