Amazon phone to use Omron 3D face tracking technology


The Amazon phone will use Omron 3D face tracking technology, according to a new report.


Amazon is due to launch its first smartphone on June 18 and all rumours and official teasers point to it featuring rather unique 3D user interface technology.


The latest report from TechCrunch suggests Amazon will use Omron’s Okao Vision 3D face sensing technology that will track your head as it moves.


Apparently an internal team at Amazon has modified the Japanese company’s technology to deliver 3D effects from a normal LCD screen.


The special Omron technology will allow you tilt or your smartphone from side to side in order to access additional side panels.


This effect is created by four front-facing cameras located at each corner of the screen, with the Okao face tracking software detecting your face’s location via the stereo-aligned cameras.


Amazon’s phone features a gyroscope and accelerometer, which should aid a faster response for the Okao technology as well as increased power efficiency and accuracy.


If you were thinking it was going to be something like the 3D tech features in the Nintendo 3DS, it looks like the Amazon phone won’t be affected by so many limiting factors.


Sources suggest that the 3D UI functionality will be limited at launch, perhaps limited to several main apps with more added later.


The Amazon phone itself will run a heavily modified version of Android, similar to that offered by the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX and other own brand tablets.


It is expected to feature a 4.7-inch 720p display and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM.


In the future Amazon may well utilise the facial recognition of Omron’s technology, which can pick out facial attributes, gender, ethnicity and age. Reports suggest that Amazon is merely focused on head tracking for the time being.


Read more: Best mobile phone 2014