Phones
Liquid lens could be the next big thing in Smartphone Camera, Huawei P50 Series to equip first
Huawei is one of the best smartphone camera makers in the market, powered by the best camera technologies. Huawei P40 series is the latest example that comes with the industry’s largest CMOS sensor to capture the brightest images in low light conditions.
Recently China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) approved an important camera module patent related to the Liquid Lens. Application for this patent filed by Huawei on December 25, 2019, and approved on April 7, 2020.
According to the information, the patent includes a moving motor, camera placeholder, and electronic hardware to move the liquid lens. Check the figure below to understand its hardware.
Moving Hardware: Includes a stator – a moving part, that moves in the direction of the optical axis. The moving part acts when it receives power from the Motor, and squeeze or pulls the liquid lens through the connected spring.
Connected Spring: Connects Liquid lens and Moving hardware.
Limiter: Limits the connected spring in the direction of the optical axis when the range of altitude changes.
In work: This structure used to move the liquid lens to achieve autofocus and optical image stabilization. Moreover, the solution also improves the stability and reliability of the motor under conditions such as impact or drop.
What is Liquid Lens:
By integrating a liquid lens, the imaging system can change the plane of focus in milliseconds in order to provide sharp images, regardless of the object’s distance from the camera.
This makes integrating liquid lenses an ideal choice for applications that require focusing at multiple distances where the objects under inspection are different sizes or at different distances away from the lens.
Key benefits of using Liquid Lens:
- Very fast Autofocus and Depth detection.
- Better Image Stabilization.
- Removes the requirement of Time of Flight (ToF) Sensor and extra Image Stabilization hardware.
- It takes a small space compared to there lens.
Check the video linked below for more information.
Huawei phone with Liquid lens?
The liquid lens is in the industry for quite a time now but it’s not a mature technology for smartphones but the patent suggests that there are higher chances to see a Huawei smartphone equipped with this type of lens.
Also if it’s not used in Mate 40 series, then the Huawei P50 series could be a potential contender to come by next year to break some more photography rules. We’ll wait to catch more news on this matter.
Check the full patent here:
