New Apple Patent Shows Forward Facing Camera

New day, new Apple patent entitled “Apparatus and Method for Compensating for Variations in Digital Cameras”. AppleInsider reports that the patent application shows plans for superior picture and video recording performance on portable devices, and also depicts a handheld device with a forward facing camera.

Different camera modules are manufactured separately , and then assembled into a larger device like iPhone or iPod. The process creates cameras that may have minor differences in their physical or operational attributes. Variations can occur in lens thickness, color response, wavelength cutoff and more.

Apple’s proposed fix would use acquired “video images of colored light” and would measure a light intensity of response of the camera to that colored light. Using this method of measurement, the specific camera’s “bias” could be determined and compensated for, allowing a more uniform level of quality.

Another method could employ a “signal processor” that would adjust the calibrated color intensities of images and videos captured by the camera, and compensate for them based on a preconfigured calibration.

This could mean that there is a possibility for us to get an iSight camera on the next gen iPhone in June/July. This does not mean only an easy way for us to shoot self portraits or self recording, but it will also bring video conferencing to the iPhone.