Apple patent covers new iPhone Camera Technologies

In the last week the US Patent & Trademark Office have published a new pair of patent applications from Apple that is revealing another series of iPhone camera technologies.

Patently Apple, a site dedicated to Apple patents has news on this application. They say “One of Apple's latest inventions relating to a next generation auto exposure algorithm may have actually slipped into Apple's latest iPhone 4S. The second invention revealed this week relates to “Automatic Tone Mapping Curve Generation.” Apple has made a number of great advancements in their latest iPhone 4S camera that now makes it even easier for consumers to capture those great at-the-moment photos that make everlasting memories. Other patented technologies that made it into this year's iPhone 4S include video stabilization and face detection. If you happen to be a camera aficionado, then you might just want to delve into an overview of Apple's latest goodies.  ”

Apples new solution to resolve issues with the troublesome camera ‘Auto Exposure' is to cover an “improved automatic exposure algorithm attempt to classify an image into a particular “scene category,” and, based on the determined scene category, meter the scene according to a generated metering weighting matrix.

Apple's patent generally describes a new and more effective scene adaptive auto exposure algorithm that compares brightness, i.e., luminance, values in first desired regions of an image to luminance values in second desired regions of the same image, thus remaining independent of the camera's current exposure settings.”

It isn't tied just into still pictures, as the information says “At one point in Apple's documentation, they state that new scene adaptive auto exposure technique could apply to the iPhone's video camera as well as with the iSight camera in MacBooks and iMacs.”

Kitguru says: If you are interested in this new patent, then read more over here.

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