Is Apple sick of your blurry photos? A patent filed by the company suggests that your iPhone may one day select your pictures for you.
A patent filing was discovered Thursday, Feb. 14 that suggests Apple is looking to develop technology that will make taking photos with your phone even easier.
The patent, filed in October 2012, is called "Image capturing device having continuous image capture," describes technology that would take multiple photos in one burst, and automatically select the best one, based on multiple variables, according to Apple Insider, who discovered the patent.
The iPhone has a very powerful camera, given its size and all of its other functions. But the device is not purpose built to take photos, and many aspects of image capturing are understandably compromised (not to mention the difficulty in holding the handset stable while shooting). One example is the optics and imaging sensor in the iPhone, tiny compared to contemporary DSLRs and point-and-shoots.
"These image capturing devices typically use a preview resolution for capturing a preview image of a scene. Subsequently, a user provides an input to take a photograph. The device switches from preview resolution to full resolution prior to capturing an image. Switching from preview to full resolution causes a time lag, which may lead to user frustration. Also, camera shake during the time when a user presses a button or touches a touchscreen can degrade image quality."
When a user opens the Camera app, the system begins storing images. When the image is "taken" (the user presses the shutter button), the app selects from images stored. A photo is selected based on the "focus score," from image resolution, contrast, dynamic range and color-rendering properties. The system then factors in the exposure time, weights the scores and selects the "best" image.
The patent lists Ralph Brunner, Nikhil Bhogal and James David Batson as inventors, and cites a co-pending patent from June 5, 2009, titled "Camera Image Selection Based on Detected Device Movement."
