Smartphone-Attached Skin Analysis With Modular Measurement Assisters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing skin care and cosmetics solutions face challenges such as inaccuracy in measurements, limited scope of measurement capability, high cost, and logistic difficulties in deploying specialized hardware for skin analysis, making it difficult to effectively recommend products and match cosmetics colors to consumers' skin tones.
Innovation Solution
A skin analysis device that attaches to a smartphone, comprising passive and active measurement assisters, including a camera, light sources, and a moisture sensor, which uses image processing algorithms to analyze skin characteristics and recommend products based on these measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If specialized hardware is used for skin analysis, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces measurement assisters as intermediary components that attach to the smartphone camera to enhance its measurement capabilities. These assisters include diffusers to create uniform lighting, polarizing filters to reduce glare, and color calibration targets to ensure accurate color representation. The assisters act as mediators between the limited smartphone camera and the requirement for precise skin characteristic measurement, enabling professional-grade analysis without requiring a completely specialized hardware system.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention makes the smartphone camera universal by enabling it to perform multiple skin analysis functions through attachable assisters. The same camera can measure moisture, oil, elasticity, pigmentation, and perform color matching by switching between different assisters. This multi-functionality approach allows a single device to replace multiple specialized instruments, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining measurement precision across various skin characteristics.
2Measurement precision
If stand-alone skin analysis devices are created, then measurement capability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the skin analysis functionality with the existing smartphone platform, combining the camera, processor, display, and communication capabilities of the smartphone with specialized measurement assisters. This integration allows the system to leverage the smartphone's existing high-resolution camera and processing power, eliminating the need to manufacture a completely new stand-alone device with all components from scratch, thereby significantly reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining advanced measurement capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the smartphone's existing self-service capabilities including its built-in camera, image processing algorithms, display screen, and wireless communication features. By leveraging these already-present components, the invention avoids the cost of incorporating separate batteries, processors, displays, and communication modules that would be required in a traditional stand-alone device, making the solution cost-effective while maintaining full measurement functionality.
3Reliability
If multiple skin characteristics are measured, then product recommendation accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement of different skin characteristics into separate, specialized assisters that can be attached as needed. Each assister is designed for a specific measurement type (e.g., moisture sensor assister, elasticity assister, color calibration assister), allowing the system to measure multiple skin characteristics without requiring all components to be integrated simultaneously. This modular segmentation reduces the complexity of any single measurement setup while enabling comprehensive multi-parameter analysis when multiple assisters are used together.
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
Provides accurate, cost-effective, and user-friendly skin analysis using existing smartphone technology, enabling personalized product recommendations and color matching.
Implementation Method 1
obtain a first skin characteristic image of a user using a camera
Implementation Method 2
a light source assembly, wherein the light source assembly comprises: a light source board with one or more individually controllable light sources thereon that illuminate the user when the camera captures an image of the user
Implementation Method 3
a diffuser that diffuses one or more light sources that pass through the diffuser
Implementation Method 4
a moisture sensor disposed on the cylindrical sleeve assembly such that the moisture sensor can measure moisture qualities of a surface of the user
Data Source
AI summary
There is a skin analysis device for attachment to an electronic device of a human user, the electronic device having at least one skin characteristic measurement device, the skin analysis device comprising an enclosure comprising an enclosure body, configured to be removably connected to the electronic device and one or more skin characteristic measurement assisters, connected to the enclosure and configured to assist one or more skin characteristic measurement devices take a skin characteristic sample of a skin characteristic of the human user.