Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,567,787) for “autofocusing images using motion detection” that promises enhancements to the ever-improving cameras on iPhones (and, to a lesser degree, iPads).
The idea is that pictures captured by the device’s camera or received from other data sources could be process on the device itself rather than being processed in an “image processing pipeline” involving software such as Photos. Apple wants iPhones and iPads to be better able to take raw image data and correct, filter, or otherwise modify it before passing it on to other devices and software apps.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to autofocusing of images using motion vectors generated by an image signal processor of a device. An image being processed may include one or more motion detection windows associated with a motion vector as well as one or more autofocus windows.
“An autofocus window that follows a motion detection window by at least a threshold vertical distance may be selected, for example, to account for a period of time or latency for determining a motion vector of the motion detection window. The device may perform autofocusing by shifting location of the selected autofocus window.”
