Eizo Nanao Adds Presence Sensor to LCDs

Presence sensors are most often seen in air conditioning units, but Eizo Nanao announced an integration of the technology to its new LCD monitor models.

Two models - one a 20-inch display, the other a 23-inch model - will be fitted with infrared sensors that can detect the presence of a user and distinguish it from inanimate objects directly in front of the monitor such as office chairs. This feature, called the "EcoView Sense" can scan the area within 120 cm right in front of the LCD. If, within a 40-second scan, it fails to determine the presence of a human user, the monitor shifts to a power-saving mode that adjusts the screen display.

But the sensor doesn't just work to determine a user's presence, it also scans for the degree of ambient lighting and adjusts the backlight intensity to complement it. In power-saving mode, both models consume only 0.7 watts or lower, whereas the 20-inch and 23-inch monitors would normally use 25 watts and 18 watts of electricity respectively. Of course ordinary monitors available in the market today would already have a feature that could turn itself off after a pre-determined time of inactivity. The difference lies in the presence sensor's ability to adjust backlighting as was mentioned and, for what it's worth, the ability to quickly revert back to regular mode upon detection of a user.