Samsung patents projector that uses phone light to detect touch
Samsung describes a device with a camera and projector that maps a surface to create an interactive display. It uses the light from a nearby phone or tablet to detect where a user is touching the projected image.
In the filing’s own words
An electronic apparatus according to the disclosure includes a camera, a projector for projecting an image onto a projection area, memory, and at least one processor configured to obtain an image of the projection area captured by the camera, identify an external electronic apparatus and at least one object within the projection area based on the image, identify, within the projection area, a first area including the external electronic apparatus and a second area including the at least one object based on the obtained image, identity a third area of the projection area excluding the first area and the second area, identify a fourth area, in the third area, in which a user input is detectable based on light output from the external electronic apparatus, and project a projection image onto at least a partial area of the fourth area.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a camera; a projector configured to project an image onto a projection area; memory storing instructions; and at least one processor including processing circuitry, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic apparatus to: obtain an image of the projection area captured by the camera; identify an external electronic apparatus and at least one object within the projection area based on the image; identify, within the projection area, a first area including the external electronic apparatus and a second area including the at least one object based on the obtained image; identity a third area of the projection area excluding the first area and the second area; identify a fourth area, in the third area, in which a user input is detectable based on light output from the external electronic apparatus; and project, via the projector, a projection image onto at least a partial area of the fourth area.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
- Official title
- ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF
- Publication number
- US20260279232A1
- Application number
- 19573709
- Filed
- Mar 20, 2026
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 17
Classified under
G09G 3/001 Physics & computingG06F 3/042 Physics & computingG06V 10/25 Physics & computingG06V 20/50 Physics & computingG09G 2354/00 Physics & computingMore from Samsung in AR, VR & displays
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- Samsung patents AR glasses that blend real objects into virtual scenes Oct 1, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.