"Hey Siri" support and possibly wireless charging case alongside AirPower charging mat.
AirPods and AirPower: Everything We Know
Apple Taps UK Engineer for New Optical Image Stabilization System for iOS Device Cameras
In line with yesterday's report claiming that the iPhone 6 will retain an 8-megapixel rear camera while focusing on other aspects such as image stabilization to improve performance, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday published an Apple patent application (via Unwired View) outlining a system for implementing optical image stabilization (OIS) with improved autofocus (AF) capabilities in miniature camera such as those found on iOS devices.
Apple's iPhone 5s introduced last September includes software-based image stabilization, a system that involves taking four photos in quick succession and then combining the best parts of each to produce a final image minimizing noise, subject motion, and hand shake. Optical image stabilization, found in some smartphones and many standalone cameras, allows the actual camera lens to move slightly, buffering against hand shake and other small movements.
The newly published patent application from Apple describes a method for integrating optical image stabilization into the voice coil motor (VCM) actuators used for autofocus in miniature cameras.
Apple's patent application, filed in October 2012 and based on a provisional patent application filed in July of that year, credits a sole inventor, Richard Topliss. According to his LinkedIn profile, Topliss joined Apple as a senior camera technology specialist in January 2012 after spending over a decade as chief technical officer of Cambridge Mechatronics in the UK. That company currently focuses on OIS actuators for smartphones, and today's patent application makes clear that Topliss immediately brought that expertise to bear at Apple.
Cambridge Mechatronics began sampling its latest OIS actuators to customers last August, with the modules expected to begin appearing in smartphones early this year. It is unclear whether Apple is working directly with Cambridge Mechatronics on lens module projects, but the two companies are clearly working on very similar technology and have a natural connection through Topliss.
Apple's iPhone 5s introduced last September includes software-based image stabilization, a system that involves taking four photos in quick succession and then combining the best parts of each to produce a final image minimizing noise, subject motion, and hand shake. Optical image stabilization, found in some smartphones and many standalone cameras, allows the actual camera lens to move slightly, buffering against hand shake and other small movements.
The newly published patent application from Apple describes a method for integrating optical image stabilization into the voice coil motor (VCM) actuators used for autofocus in miniature cameras.
An embodiment of the invention is an actuator module suitable for use in a camera, more specifically, a miniature camera. The actuator module may include a mechanism to provide an AF function and a mechanism to provide an OIS function. [...]
The combination of the AF mechanism and OIS mechanism within a single actuator module allows the actuator module to modify the position of the lens relative to the image sensor along five different axes (i.e., 5 degrees of freedom (DOF)). Representatively, the lens may be shifted or translated along at least three different axes and rotated about at least two different axes.
Apple's patent application, filed in October 2012 and based on a provisional patent application filed in July of that year, credits a sole inventor, Richard Topliss. According to his LinkedIn profile, Topliss joined Apple as a senior camera technology specialist in January 2012 after spending over a decade as chief technical officer of Cambridge Mechatronics in the UK. That company currently focuses on OIS actuators for smartphones, and today's patent application makes clear that Topliss immediately brought that expertise to bear at Apple.
Cambridge Mechatronics began sampling its latest OIS actuators to customers last August, with the modules expected to begin appearing in smartphones early this year. It is unclear whether Apple is working directly with Cambridge Mechatronics on lens module projects, but the two companies are clearly working on very similar technology and have a natural connection through Topliss.
Tag: patent
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Top Rated Comments
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67 months ago
I'm glad to see they are focusing on the details. I think that will help the overall success when looking at the big picture. GET IT? GET IT?
There, fixed it for you.
67 months ago
I'm glad to see they are focusing on the details. I think that will help the overall success when looking at the big picture.
how old are you that you have to put it in bold just to show how "witty" you are? 12?
67 months ago
Representatively, the lens may be shifted or translated along at least three different axes
Smart of the lawyer to word this in such a way that beings living in four-dimensional space will still have to pay royalties.
Smart of the lawyer to word this in such a way that beings living in four-dimensional space will still have to pay royalties.
67 months ago
There, fixed it for you.
Thanks ;)
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how old are you that you have to put it in bold just to show how "witty" you are? 12?
My age is none of your concern. How does bolding something as a joke warrant a question of my age? Why does it bother you so badly that I pointed out my own joke? It's a joke. Relax. then go get a life. see what I did there?
67 months ago
how old are you that you have to put it in bold just to show how "witty" you are? 12?
Lay off him, he was just being bold.
67 months ago
Change your shooting style. The picture is actually taken when you release the button. So instead of poking at the button put your finger on it, stabilize the camera, then gently lift your finger off the button to take the picture. This can greatly reduce the camera shake.
Unfortunately, this only works with third-party apps eplicitly allowing for this.
In the stock Camera app of iOS7, holding down the shutter icon activates burst mode, unlike in prev. OS versions.
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