Yesterday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) application for a new patent related to three-dimensional photo and video capture. This document described a way to create full 3D images of objects with a “portable electronic device,” presumably including the camera in a smartphone. The filing, U.S. Patent Application #20140118346, is entitled “Generating a Three-Dimensional Model Using a Portable Electronic Device,” and was filed initially on January 6th, 2014.
The principle is elegantly simple in outline, though complex in execution and programming. The three-dimensional imagery is generating by activating a feature that detects the movement of the device and user. This spatial data is analyzed and used to collate either sequential still photographs or a video stream into a single 3D model.
The method is important because current 3D photography techniques require multiple pictures to be taken at precise intervals, which the processor can then assemble into a picture. The method described in 20140118346, by contrast, uses a continuous location detection and 3D navigation system to automatically line up data points to form the 3D model, without the need for images to be taken at precisely determined intervals. This greatly eases the burden placed on the user and enables impromptu 3D photography without any setup, rather than requiring large amounts of preplanning and a controlled environment.
The patent application also describes how the user can view the 3D image or model from different directions simply by tilting the display device. The use of buttons, swipes, and so on to roll or spin the image is superseded by a faster, more intuitive gesture-based rendering technique. In the case of videos, users will be able to navigate through the filmed space as desired.
The application lists three inventors of record, two from Cupertino, California – Richard Tsai and Andrew Just – and one from Palo Alto – Brandon Harris. The assignee is Apple, Inc. (AAPL). Richard Hungkai Tsai is a graduate of National Taiwan University, 13% of whose alumni end up working in engineering and 10.7% in research. Mr. Tsai is a senior camera engineer at Apple Inc. and has taken a leading role in other important camera-related projects. Mr. Tsai, Mr. Just, and Mr. Harris have worked together as a team on other Apple inventions.
Though filed and published without much fanfare, Apple’s (AAPL) 3D photography and videography invention, if it is ever translated into a real product, will be an important step towards making 3D imagery and modeling with a mobile device nearly as straightforward and intuitive as taking a 2D picture or film.