The technology would work by scanning a scene via the camera, with the software able to detect human faces.
Apple outlined how its technology would be able to detect faces depending on where people were standing in a shot. For example, if there were two people in the shot and one person was closer to the camera than another, it would still be able to identify both faces accurately.
The technology is not just to detect faces, but can be used to analyze other objects too, Apple said.
Such innovation outlined in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filing, could lay the groundwork for a number of technologies.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has talked up augmented reality (AR), which refers to digital images being overlaid on the real world. The impact of AR could be as large as the iPhone, Cook said. “I think AR is that big,” the Apple boss said in an interview with The Independent newspaper in February. A camera with 3-D sensing technology is key for advanced augmented reality.
