An Apple patent application published Thursday details an intelligent method of introducing photo background blur using a depth map compiled from data captured by a stereo camera system. The document could shed light on the inner workings of Portrait Mode on iPhone 7 Plus, details of which are sparse.
The methodology described in Apple's application for "Photo-realistic shallow depth-of-field rendering from focal stacks" aligns with what little is known about Portrait Mode, an iOS feature that harnesses iPhone 7 Plus hardware to generate natural looking background blur in digital images.
Released with iOS 10.1 in October, Portrait Mode uses wide angle and "telephoto" lenses, complex computer vision algorithms and depth mapping technology to create a series of image layers. The system is able to selectively focus certain layers, like those containing a picture's subject, and unfocus others, resulting in a naturally blurred background with added bokeh.
Today's patent application details an almost identical technique, except instead of introducing blur the proposed system selects layers, or frames, that are already out of focus.
Apple patent filing sheds light on iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode
Moderators: Lily Lee, jc_3u, Moderators
-
kristine
- Posts: 349
- Joined: 26 Oct 2016 17:47
- like: 60
Apple patent filing sheds light on iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.