For smartphones to have depth-of-field capabilities, manufacturers have to do one of two things – either use lasers for detecting depth like in the early Tango phones, or use dual cameras, with the latter being the more trendy option these days. But what if you can get depth sensing with just one camera module, without adding the lasers? That’s what Qualcomm is trying to do with its chipsets, so watch out for this.
Since the inception of the Snapdragon 800 series, Qualcomm has been using its Spectra image signal processors (ISP) embedded in its chipsets. And it is announcing a big improvement in the area of camera quality by adding depth sensing to its array of features. So bokeh with one camera sensor? Most probably. Other augmented reality executions? Most likely.
“Whether used for computational photography, video recording, or for computer vision applications that require accurate motion tracking, it’s clear that power efficient camera image signal processing has become more important for the next generation of mobile user experiences,” said Tim Leland, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
So expect the upcoming Snapdragon chipsets to have a major improvement in their image processing capabilities, resulting in better camera features for the devices that will use them.
SOURCE: Qualcomm
