IPHONE X SENSORS

MENG-304 Mechanical Measurements

Assignment 1

Name: Mohamed Ahmed Nabil Abdullah

ID:1610727
Table of Contents
Introduction: .................................................................................................................................. 2
List of Sensors in iPhone:.............................................................................................................. 3
-Proximity Sensor: .................................................................................................................................. 3
-Accelerometer/Motion sensor:.............................................................................................................. 4
-Ambient Light sensor: ........................................................................................................................... 5
-Moisture sensor: .................................................................................................................................... 5
-Gyroscope:.............................................................................................................................................. 6
-Compass: ................................................................................................................................................ 6
-Barometer: ............................................................................................................................................. 7
-Touch ID: ............................................................................................................................................... 7
-Face ID: .................................................................................................................................................. 7
References: ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Introduction:
The iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are able to perform some of their coolest interface tricks
from dimming a phone screen when it's held up to your head to undoing an action by shaking the
device and beyond. All of that are already done thanks to the sensors built into most models of
those devices. Without these sensors, none of the devices would be what we know them as today.

Mainly, not every model of the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch has the exact same set of
sensors, and the capabilities the sensors enable on each model has as much to do with the operating
system being used as the hardware itself.

Each year Apple releases nearly 2 versions of iPhone with different specifications and more
improvements. Last year’s iPhone X was a massive leap forward in design for Apple after years
of resting on its laurels. The iPhone X is intended to showcase what Apple considers technology
of the future, specifically adopting OLED screen technology for the first time in iPhone history,
as well as using a glass and stainless-steel form factor, offering wireless charging, and removing
the home. iPhone X is a promising move in smartphones world as it introduce a new type password
authentication called Face ID which depends on different sensors that will be discussed in addition
to the sensor included in any kind of iPhone.
List of Sensors in iPhone:
1- Proximity sensor
2- Accelerometer/Motion sensor
3- Ambient Light sensor
4- Moisture sensor
5- Gyroscope
6- Compass
7- Barometer
8- Touch ID (Not included in iPhone X)
9- Face ID (Only included in iPhone X)

-Proximity Sensor:

This sensor determines how close the iPhone is to your face. It's what
helps the iPhone turn off its screen automatically whenever you hold the
phone up to your ear for a phone call. This feature is necessary to prevent
accidental button taps on the side of your head when talking.
Figure 1: Proximity Sensor

Operating Principles:

There are three different types and detection principles of proximity sensors as follow:
Inductive Proximity Sensors, Capacitive Proximity Sensors and Magnetic Proximity Sensors.
 Inductive Proximity Sensor: It detects magnetic loss due to eddy
currents that are generated on a conductive surface by an external magnetic
field. An AC magnetic field is generated on the detection coil, and changes
in the impedance due to eddy currents generated on a metallic object are Figure 2: Inductive Proximity Sensor
detected.
Capacitive Proximity Sensor: It detects changes in the capacitance
between the sensing object and the Sensor. The amount of capacitance
varies depending on the size and distance of the sensing object. An
ordinary Capacitive Proximity Sensor is similar to a capacitor with two
Figure 3: Capacitive Proximity Sensor
parallel plates, where the capacity of the two plates is detected. One of the
plates is the object being measured and the other is the Sensor's sensing
surface. The changes in the capacity generated between these two poles are
detected.

Magnetic Proximity Sensors: The reed end of the switch is operated by a magnet. When
the reed switch is turned ON, the Sensor is turned ON.

-Accelerometer/Motion sensor: Figure 4: Magnetic Proximity Sensor

This sensor enables the iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone’s screen to

automatically switch from landscape to portrait modes and back again
based on whether you’re holding the phone vertically or horizontally. It
is also responsible for sensing iPhone’s motion.
Principle of Operating: Most accelerometers are Micro-Electro-
Mechanical Sensors (MEMS). The basic principle of operation behind Figure 5: Accelerometer/Motion sensor
the MEMS accelerometer is the displacement of a small proof mass etched into the silicon surface
of the integrated circuit and suspended by small beams. Consistent with Newton's second law of
motion (F = ma), as an acceleration is applied to the device, a force develops which displaces the
mass.

Types of Accelerometers:
 1- Capacitive: Accelerometers that implement capacitive sensing output a voltage dependent
on the distance between two planar surfaces.
2- Piezoelectric: Piezoelectric sensing of acceleration is natural, as acceleration is directly
proportional to force. When certain types of crystal are compressed, charges of opposite
polarity accumulate on opposite sides of the crystal.
-Ambient Light sensor:

This determines how much light is available in the area surrounding the
iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen
in order to conserve battery life and to calibrate the screen to ease eye strain.

It is a photodetector that is used to sense the amount of ambient light present,

Figure and Light sensor
6: Ambient

appropriately dim the device's screen to match it. This avoids having the screen be too bright when
the user's pupils are adapted for vision in a dark room, or too dim when the device is used outdoors
in the daytime. Dimming the screen on a mobile device also prolongs the lifetime of the battery.

-Moisture sensor:

All of these devices contain this sensor, though it's not visible in the
onscreen interface or accessible through the iOS. The moisture (or water) sensor is
a little red tab that appears in the Dock Connector after the phone has been
submerged in water. It can also appear as a red dot in the headphone jack, depending
on the model. Moisture sensors are commonly used to take soil moisture Figure 7: Moisture sensor
measurements. One method to help prevent a malfunction with the iPhone following its immersion
into water may be to envelope the moisture sensor in a conductive glue to behave as an insulating
layer. The idea here is for the device to detect the speed at which the conductive glue is eroded by
water molecules.
-Gyroscope:

Starting with the iPhone 4, 4th Gen. iPod touch, and iPad 2 there's
another sensor: a three-axis gyroscope. When combining the gyroscope with
the accelerometer, this combo gives these devices six axes on which it can
operate. This is designed to make the devices more sensitive, responsive
and powerful for gaming, allowing them to react based on how the devices are
held and moved. Figure 8: Gyroscope sensor
Gyroscope sensors sense angular velocity when it’s applied with external torques or
rotations about the given axis, the orientation can be measured by a precession phenomenon. When
an object rotating about an axis is applied with external torque along a direction perpendicular to
the rotational axis, the precession occurs.

-Compass:

All iPhone models starting with the iPhone 3GS also have a compass
built into them. This sensor is used with the device's GPS and other location
awareness features to help determine your iPhone's location, which direction
it's facing, and to get you where you're going.
Figure 9: Compass sensor
The working principle of digital compass is called "
magneto-inductive" and is the largest advancement in compass
technology since the fluxgate was invented 60 years ago. The
magneto-inductive technology is able to electronically sense the
difference in the earth's magnetic field from a disturbance caused by external elements such as
ferro-magnetic materials and the magnetic field generated by automobile electrical systems. Most
digital compasses have an embedded micro controller that subtracts the automobile magnetic field
(the distortion) from the stronger earth magnetic fields resulting in a highly accurate compass
reading.
-Barometer:

Barometers assess air pressure to help, in part, to determine altitude. This sensor is used for
location and directions features: It can help determine the more precise location of your device.

Figure 10: Barometer sensor

-Touch ID:

A thumbprint sensor embedded in the Home button lets you secure access
to your device with your biometric data. It can also be used to authorize
purchases and to unlock apps.

Figure 11: Fingerprint sensor

-Face ID:

Introduced with the iPhone X, Face ID uses a complex system

to identify a person's face to provide secure authentication to both the
device and to services including Apple Pay.

Figure 12: Face ID Recognition

How it works:

As figure 13 below shows, a number of sensors integrated into a

small space at the top of the iPhone X screen are: an infrared
camera, flood illuminator, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor,
front camera, dot projector, speaker and microphone. 3D sensing in iPhone X starts at the ToF
(time of flight) sensor. Describing ToF as “more or less a presence detector,” It’s explained that
ToF powers up the other sensors, once it detects motion. Next comes a structured light, which
calculates the depth and surface information of the objects in the scene.
 Figure 12: Face ID Integrated Sensors

References:
1-https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333597
2-https://www.lifewire.com/sensors-that-make-iphone-so-cool-2000370
3-https://support.apple.com/kb/SP770?locale=en_US
4-https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-iphone-x-news/
5-https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332274&page_number=1
6-http://techinsights.com/about-techinsights/overview/blog/apple-iphone-xs-teardown/
7-http://www.ia.omron.com/support/guide/41/introduction.html
8-http://www.sensorwiki.org/doku.php/sensors/accelerometer
9-https://www.pc-control.co.uk/accelerometers.htm
10-https://www.explainthatstuff.com/accelerometers.html
11-https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=66
12-https://www.azosensors.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=252
13-https://www.safety-devices.com/how-does-digital-compass-work-a-12.html