In the world of cell phones, we are all photographers, filling our mobile galleries with thousands of snapshots. However, if you've ever taken a photo in low light or noticeable noise, you're familiar with the frustration of images not being as crystal clear and sharp as you'd like. Samsung Electronics Co., the South Korean titan known for their tech innovations, recently filed a patent, numbered US20230252770A1, that aims to solve this problem, specifically for their Samsung Galaxy Smartphone.
Put in simple words, this patent focuses on a new way to help smartphones take high-quality photos, even in less than ideal circumstances. The magic behind it all? Computer learning—a method where the computer gets to learn and improve how it processes images through a specialized learning model.
To do this, Samsung's system takes two sets of pictures with different settings. For instance, thinking of acquiring a perfect shot in a low-light environment. One image might be underexposed, capturing less light but less noise too. The other might be overexposed, getting more light details but also more noise. Samsung's system will then use this pair to create maps and special images that provide information about the ideal appearance of the photo. This data is then utilized to guide the smartphone in producing sharper and less distorted images.
An important aspect of this patent is the approach to resolving the issues with existing smartphone cameras. Currently, handling a smartphone to take pictures introduces slight camera motions, even from the most careful user. This "handshake" phenomenon increases during long exposure circumstances that are common in low-light situations, introducing significant blur into the picture. Furthermore, the noise—a grainy distortion—increases in such photos. Samsung's patent provides a method of training the smartphone to better deal with these realities of handheld photography.
Samsung's proposed solution is technical but holds promise. It aims to create a more practical training data set to better prepare the machine learning model for the variations in situations and settings commonly encountered in mobile phone photography.
The inclusion of multiple detailed figures in the patent documents, including example processes for generating training data, image processing using the trained model, and the outcomes, indicates a comprehensive approach towards the problem.
However, as thrilling as this potential boost to our mobile photography might be, it's important to bear in mind that a patent is simply a document that gives an inventor the rights to their invention. While it's an exciting glimpse into what Samsung is planning for sharper, crisper images for its Samsung Galaxy Smartphone, the filing of this patent doesn't guarantee when or even if this invention will arrive in the market. But, if it does, it could mark a notable improvement in the field of mobile photography.