Apple patent proposes video improvements for iPhone, iPod

updated 12:45 pm EST, Thu February 18, 2010

Diagrams depict forward-facing camera


Apple may be looking into improving the consistency of video input on its handhelds, a newly exposed patent application suggests. The problem, Apple comments, is that the manufacturing process for camera modules can create subtle flaws, for instance altering lens thickness or color behavior. To address the issue, Apple is proposing the use of captured "video images of colored light," which would serve as a reference point for calibrating a camera's biases.

Alternately, a signal processor could be used to adjust color levels based on a preconfigured calibration.

Diagrams included with the application echo a recurring theme of Apple handheld patents, that being a forward-facing camera. Apple has yet to make good on the concept, as not even the iPad or the iPhone 3GS have exploited the technology. Evidence has been found, however, showing that the iPad could gain the feature in future generations. This would allow for functions such as video calling, or face recognition.




by MacNN Staff


toggle

Comments

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    -5

    evidence?

    I hardly call some non-authorized repair facility receiving supposed iPad parts as being evidence supporting it's possible capabilities.

  1. malax

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2006

    -1

    huh?

    Did you post your comment on the wrong story, test?

  1. brainiac

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2003

    +2

    Whitebalance

    So are they essentially trying to patent whitebalance calibration? Doesn't seem very novel to me.

  1. bonaccij

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2003

    +1

    About whitebalance...

    Actually, white balance is the “800 pound gorilla” as far as hardware calibration is concerned for camera manufacturers. It is actually quite interesting that Apple is trying to develop this technology. It isn’t, actually, that they are trying to patent “whitebalance callibration”, per se, but rather how the cameras attached to their devices can achieve accurate whitebalance readings and repeat them....

    Cool!

Login Here

Not a member of the MacNN forums? Register now for free.

 
close
Photo
toggle

Network Headlines

toggle

Most Popular

10 Most Read

Recent Reviews

Logitech Cube

The world of mice could often be described charitably as stagnant: it's an endless sea of ergonomic shapes that assume you're sitting ...

NewerTech and Targus USB Hubs For Gifts

A useful holiday present to resolve an ongoing frustration is a multi-port hub. Whether as a stocking stuffer, Chanukah present, or an ...

X-Rite ColorMunki Photo

Color calibration is the art of tweaking your monitor so that the colors represented on screen better match real life and your printer ...

toggle

Most Commented

10 Most Discussed