- Samsung Display flexes its muscles at LA Display Week
- The Korean giant unveils Sensor OLED, a new type of screen with an integrated biometric sensor
- This will unlock the smartphone by touching any part of the screen, and measure heart rate and blood pressure
While it is best known for its smartphones, which dominate the global market, Samsung is also one of the main suppliers of screens (for Samsung devices and those of other brands). And this May, the branch of the Korean giant specializing in screens, Samsung Display, has the opportunity to show its muscles during the Display Week event in Los Angeles. While continuing to perfect its folding displays and rollable displays, Samsung has also unveiled a new type of OLED display that will bring brand new health features to smartphones.
Specifically, Samsung unveiled a technology called Sensor OLED Display that directly integrates biometric sensors. Today, this type of sensor is the norm on high-end smartphones. However, these are not integrated into the screen, but offered via a separate module which is placed under the screen. Samsung wants to change that by offering OLED displays that have the organic light-sensitive photodiode (OPD) as part of the display panel.
A sensor integrated into the screen
Thanks to this technology, the screen will not only be able to recognize the user’s fingerprint, it will also be able to measure heart rate, blood pressure and stress level. And to perform these measurements, it will be enough to place two fingers on the screen. According to Samsung’s explanations, the light from the OLED screen is reflected differently depending on the contraction and relaxation of blood vessels.
And these variations are picked up thanks to the light-sensitive organic photodiode integrated into the panel. Moreover, while traditional biometric sensors require you to place your finger on a specific area of the screen, the technology unveiled by Samsung works on all areas.
© SamsungDisplay
“To accurately measure a person’s blood pressure, it is necessary to measure the blood pressure of both arms”says Samsung Display. “The Sensor OLED display can simultaneously detect the fingers of both hands, providing more accurate health information than existing wearables.”
Unfortunately, at this time, it is not known when this technology will be available on a commercial product. But in any case, as Samsung provides screens to other brands (including Apple), it is likely that its Sensor OLEDs are not reserved for Galaxy smartphones.
Ever more advanced folding and roll-up screens
As mentioned above, Samsung Display continues to improve its offer in the field of folding or rollable screens. For example, this one presented a new roll-up screen which makes it possible to multiply the surface of this screen by five. This is quite a feat, as other screens of this type usually only allow the size to be multiplied by 3 times. But to end this limitation, Samsung says that it has created a technology which allows to roll up or to unroll the screen around an O-shaped axis, like a scroll.
Otherwise, on the folding smartphone side, Samsung Display presented a new concept that is able to bend 360 degrees. Besides that, Samsung has also presented a smartphone concept that combines foldable screens and a rollable screen.
(Source)