Most people have tried to take a photo in a dark area, only to discover that it was too dark for their iPhone or other mobile device to light the scene all on its own. So now Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) aims to solve that with a new patent.
A Description Of Apple’s “Illumination System”
The patent is for an Illumination System, and it describes a way for a number of devices to work together to provide flashes to light an especially dark scene. It would utilize multiple iPhones or other devices to light up a dark scene so that a photograph could be taken.
The main device used for this method would be either a smartphone or a camera, and it would utilize secondary devices like smartphones, tablets or other mobile devices which have a flash that’s either built in or somehow connected to them. The main device would take a test photo to determine how much light would be needed in order to adequately light up the shot.
How Apple’s Illumination Method Would Work
Then all of the secondary devices would receive information from that shot and coordinate together to determine how much light, the intensity of that light, and the precise timing needed to coordinate the shot.
The devices would take into account their location in relationship to the shot, and they would be able to work automatically or be manually set. The data needed to perfect the shot by using all of the devices would be delivered through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Apple Insider, which was one of the first to spot the new patent, compared the new system to the way photographers use a system of flashes in multiple locations in order to light up a shot by firing together. Of course the main difference would be the use of mobile devices with a flash rather than the types of flashes that are commonly used by photographers to pull off similar shots.
