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OnePlus has officially launched its Concept One phone at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The announcement of the phone with a hidden or disappearing camera came on the heels of a teaser video posted on Twitter by the manufacturer.
The device, which has been designed in partnership with McLaren, is the first smartphone to have an electrochromic glass panel with ‘invisible’ cameras. This switches between transparent and opaque to reveal the rear camera or hide it. According to OnePlus, the change from solid black to fully clear takes place in with just 0.7 seconds – quicker than the camera itself takes to activate.
The OnePlus Concept One smartphone has a disappearing rear camera
The inspiration for this design came from McLaren’s 720S Spider sports car, featuring a retractable hard-top that has the same type of electrochromic material that can switch between tinted and transparent states.
The Concept One phone also comes with a rear leather panel, which is in McLaren’s signature Papaya Orange shade. The manufacturer, OnePlus, has yet to reveal any details concerning the phone specs, including when or if it will release the handset anytime soon.
OnePlus Concept One Phone Video
What’s used on the device, the Chinese brand claims, is the world’s most advanced electrochromic glass ever designed. Two (2) glass panels are crammed in the organic material between them, each measuring only 0.1 millimeters and having a combined thickness of only 0.35 millimeters.
The phone maker also claims the glass panel makes use of “almost” zero power for its operation. The smartphone frame is designed with an aluminium alloy, which is treated with a new vapor deposition process, allowing the thin gold finish layer to be precisely deposited and creating what OnePlus describes as a “subtle shine”.
Shedding light on the Concept One design, CEO and Founder of OnePlus, Pete Lau, explained: “This concept phone is a significant experiment into the future form of smartphones. OnePlus started this initiative with the goal of bringing the “burdenless” user experience to the next level. The invisible camera stands as a new form of camera design, one that spares the user from the compromises of current camera layouts.”
Apart from this, the China-based phone company is also very enthused about flaunting its research and development (R&D) efforts, asserting that this now contributes to more than 70% of its staff. Along with the center launched recently in Hyderabad, India, that already has more than 200 people developing 5G software, OnePlus has seven R&D centers in different locations around the world.
Reference
- Twitter. Source .
Author:Tijani Mustapha
Deji is a web content developer and tech writer, who is passionate about tech-related topics and issues. A graduate of Physics from the University of Ibadan, he loves writing, conducting research, playing football, and meeting people of diverse backgrounds and interests.
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Samsung’s artificial humans are one of the fascinating revelations at CES 2020, dazzling the audience with their futuristic appeal.
Samsung Technology and Advanced Research Labs, also known as STAR Labs, has formally unveiled its “creepy” artificial human project, called Neon, MobilityArena can report. You can think of these virtual beings as digital avatars: These are computer-animated human likenesses, which are as deserving to be dubbed “artificial human” as Cortana or Siri.
What Are Samsung’s Artificial Humans All about?
Samsung’s Neons act and look like humans, built with the capabilities to form memories and learn new things
Speaking on the announcement, STAR Labs CEO Pranav Mistry says, “Neon is like a new kind of life. There are millions of species on our planet and we hope to add one more.”
“Neons are not AI assistants,” STAR Labs clarified.
“Neons are more like us, an independent but virtual living being, who can show emotions and learn from experiences. Unlike AI assistants, Neons do not know it all, and they are not an interface to the internet to ask for weather updates or to play your favorite music.”
They are made to engage in conversations and display human-like behavior. Additionally, the artificial humans are capable of forming memories and also learning new skills.
These digital beings can function as financial advisers, teachers, health caregivers, spokespeople, concierges, actors, or TV anchors.
Privacy & Security Concerns Surrounding Samsung’s Neons
Owing to the human-like appearance and capabilities of the Neons, a number of concerns have been raised on whether this tech could be used for deepfakes — which are videos manipulated in a way that show real individuals saying or doing things they did not.
Reacting to these insinuations, STAR Labs explained that even though a digital avatar could be based on a real person’s appearance, the tech behind Neons design is “fundamentally different from deepfake or other facial reanimation techniques.”
Also, the company explained that it developed the technology taking ethical considerations of privacy and trust into account. The company stated it ensures data security by making use of “state-of-the-art security protocols,” adding that the only individuals that have access to a person’s interaction with a Neon artificial human are the person and the Neon.
Also, Neons can never divulge private data without the user’s permission.
The company is planning to beta-launch Neon later in the year and will partner with a number of firms around the world.
The next best friend you will have might just be an artificial human — a Neon!
Author:Tijani Mustapha
Deji is a web content developer and tech writer, who is passionate about tech-related topics and issues. A graduate of Physics from the University of Ibadan, he loves writing, conducting research, playing football, and meeting people of diverse backgrounds and interests.
