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New App "SpeCam" uses Phone's Front Camera to recognize Surface it is sitting on.

229 views · Published 5 September 2017 · 1:48 · Indexed 19 October 2026

Channel: Rajamanickam Antonimuthu · 2017 · Science & Technology

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An innovative technology, created by researchers at the University of St Andrews, can allow your smartphone to carry out a range of tasks just by recognising the surface it is sitting on.

SpeCam is a program which would enable existing phones to utilize their camera function to recognise different materials they have been exposed to. This would link up with a previously created database so the phone could “understand” what type of surface it has been placed on.

This offers a wide range of applications from allowing your phone to tell you where it is when you can’t find it, to programming it to take different surfaces as a trigger for action. For example if the phone rings and you place it face down on your laptop, it could send a message saying “sorry I am in a meeting” or if put inside your pocket it could suggest the caller try a different colleague

The program would also allow the way the phone is held to perform tasks, such as changing the volume on the television, or playing certain music, such as soft jazz if placed on the sofa or dance music if on the coffee table.

‌As the required hardware already exists on modern smartphones, the SpeCam system could be enabled through a software update or application download.


SpeCam cleverly uses the screen/display on a smartphone as a multi-spectral light source and the front facing camera to capture the reflection of the material it has been placed face-down upon.

The program allows the way the screen rapidly cycles through different colours to illuminate the object to detect the material and infer the location or placement of the device.

Video Source: TcBoY Yeo
News Source:  https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2017/title,1550872,en.php

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