Apple Inc.

Jason R Holloway

Hui Chao

David R Pope

Moshe Laifenfeld

Maxim W Smirnov

Gregory Guyomarc'h

Oriel Bergig

Kaiming Liu

William T Warner

Connor Henley

Alexandra H Chau

Imaging apparatus includes a camera, which includes an autofocus mechanism. A range sensor includes a transmitter, which includes multiple emitters configured to transmit optical pulses at different angles toward the scene, and a receiver, to receive and sense respective times of flight of the optical pulses that are reflected from the scene. A photodetector outputs a signal indicative of an intensity of reflections from the scene. Control circuitry drives the emitters in alternation to transmit the optical pulses, estimates a range to a target in the scene responsively to the times of flight sensed by the receiver, detects a difference in the signal output by the photodetector in response to the pulses transmitted by different ones of the emitters, and sets the autofocus mechanism responsively to the estimated range as long as the detected difference is no greater than a predefined threshold difference.

Detection of close-range specular targets

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate performing registration of a first image to a second image where the first image is undistorted to linear space before applying a geometric transformation matrix to modify the first image to align with the second image. The geometric transformation matrix may be a linear matrix that causes the undistorted version of the first image to make translation movement, rotational movement or both. The undistorted and modified first image is then reverted back to nonlinear distorted space. Then the reverted first image may be warped to better align with the second image for fusing with the second image. In this way, visual distortions in the fused image such as wobbling may be reduced or eliminated.

Linear transform of undistorted image for fusion

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Jason R Holloway