Apple has been awarded a patent for Lytro-like light-field camera technology.
On Tuesday, November 26, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Apple a patent for a camera system that deploys a microlens adaptor, which enables users to click a picture and adjust the focus, post the shot has been taken, just like the Lytro light-field camera.
Apple's U.S. Patent No. 8,593,564 describes the method by which a user can take a photograph at a specific resolution and then refocus the resulting image later.
"A digital camera system configurable to operate in a low-resolution refocus mode and a high-resolution non-refocusable mode comprising: a camera body; an image sensor mounted in the camera body having a plurality of sensor pixels for capturing a digital image; an imaging lens for forming an image of a scene onto an image plane, the imaging lens having an aperture; and an adapter that can be inserted between the imaging lens and the image sensor to provide the low-resolution refocusable mode and can be removed to provide the high-resolution non-refocusable mode, the microlens array is positioned between the imaging lens and the image sensor," per the patent description.
The patent describes the use of a plenoptic or light-field camera which uses a microlens array like an adaptor rather than a fixed and integrated component like in the Lytro. Per Apple's patent, the adaptor is a switchable optical module that is mounted to a bracket, which also has a glass plate for normal high-resolution photos.
This system deployed by Apple seems to be hardware rather than software-based, like Nokia's Refocus app.
The patent also notes the inclusion of such a system in portable devices like the iPhone. However, at this juncture it is not known if Apple will deploy this technology in any upcoming iPhone model.
