Contributing to the latest rumors, the Fast company published information from anonymous sources which state that the alleged “IPhone 8” come with one 3D rear laser, which will help improve both the camera's autofocus system and its augmented reality features.
According to the source, Ma's new device will have the vertical emission semiconductor lasers (VCSEL) system in its rear camera, which has previously been speculated on.
VCSEL laser systems calculate the distance light travels from the laser to the target and back to the sensor, generating a TOF measurement. The system consists of a source (the VCSEL laser), a lens, a detector (sensor) and a processor. The entire system costs about $ 2 per phone.
As KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in February, we will probably see this 3D laser system in the front camera, and so the source of the Fastco reports, we will also have the same in the rear camera.
When it comes to augmented reality, we have been surprised by ARKit, which currently works through complex algorithms with optical information provided by the iPhone iSight camera. If indeed the “iPhone 8” comes with this 3D rear laser, the way we measure the depth of the objects around us would be dramatically improved and would contribute a lot to RA.
In addition to RA, the sensor would help improve autofocus, which would become faster and more accurate. For comparison, from the iPhone 6 iSight cameras on Ma devices have what has been called Focus Pixels, which is a phase detection autofocus. To achieve the desired result, this type of autofocus detects and compares two or more sets of incoming incident light rays.
In contrast, the new laser-focused autofocus would measure depth by counting the time it would take for a light pulse to reach its target. This would allow the camera to focus on mere milliseconds. This type of autofocus has already been used on smartphones from Google, Huawei, OnePlus, and ASUS.
Apple is expected to use VCSEL lasers from Lamentum, Finisar and II-VI vendors. J the flight time sensor can be obtained from STMicro, Infineon or AMS. And, of course, some other components can be purchased from LG Innotek, STMicro, AMS or Foxconn.
Although initially all these rumors point that the 3D sensor is in the device to be announced this year, it may be that this technology is not ready for release on the "iPhone 8", coming later in the next devices.
via AppleInsider
