Smart Mirror Light Control to Reduce Shadowing and Color Casting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mirrors and digital mirrors face challenges in providing semantic information to users during personal care activities without interfering with the evenness of lighting, leading to shadowing and color casting effects on the reflected image.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a display surface, a light emitting portion, and a control unit that adjusts the light based on the user's position relative to the light emitting portion to minimize shadowing and color casting, using sensors to measure the user's position and control the brightness, intensity, color, and number of light emitting elements to optimize the presentation of semantic information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If light is used to convey semantic information to the user, then information delivery is improved, but shadowing and color casting effects on the user's image are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system dynamically adjusts its operation based on detected user presence and position. When a user is detected within a threshold distance, the system transitions from providing semantic information to prioritizing even illumination, thereby eliminating shadowing and color casting effects while maintaining information delivery capability when the user is farther away
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect user presence and position, creating a feedback loop that informs lighting control decisions. This feedback mechanism enables the system to automatically adjust lighting behavior based on real-time user position, resolving the contradiction between information delivery and image quality
2Loss of information
If an integrated display is used inside the mirror to present semantic information, then information presentation is improved, but the reflected image quality is worsened due to overlay interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the semantic information presentation function from the integrated display and relocates it to the lighting system. By using light to convey information rather than a display overlay, the system eliminates interference with the reflected image while maintaining effective information delivery to the user
3Illumination intensity
If the lighting system is adjusted to provide even illumination for optimal visibility, then image quality is improved, but the ability to convey semantic information with light is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system operates in dynamic modes: when users are present within the threshold distance, it provides even illumination for optimal visibility; when users are farther away, it transitions to conveying semantic information through light patterns, thereby achieving both objectives at different times
Solution Approach 2:
The system periodically assesses user presence and position, switching between illumination modes and information-conveyance modes based on real-time conditions, allowing both even lighting and semantic information delivery to be achieved in an alternating fashion
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces the impact of semantic information on the lighting evenness, ensuring users can see themselves clearly while receiving relevant information, by dynamically adjusting light characteristics based on their proximity to the light source.
Implementation Method 1
a light emitting portion for using light to convey semantic information to the user
Implementation Method 2
a sensor for measuring the position of the user relative to the light emitting portion
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus including a display surface for presenting an image of a user; a light emitting portion for using light to convey semantic information to the user; a sensor for measuring the position of the user relative to the light emitting portion; and a control unit to control the light emitting portion based on the measured position of the user relative to the light emitting portion so as to minimize an effect of the light conveying the semantic information provided by the light emitting portion on the presented image of the user.