Reflective Apparatus Expands Front Camera Field of View
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Solution Overview
Problem
In video calls, the close proximity of the front-facing camera to the user's face results in a concentrated view of the upper part or entire face, leading to a poor user experience as the peer user only sees a limited view of the local user.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device equipped with a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera, along with a light reflective apparatus that can switch between usage and idle states. When enabled, the light reflective apparatus reflects the picture in the direction of the front-facing camera, allowing the rear-facing camera to capture and process the image, thereby expanding the field of view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the front-facing camera is placed close to the user's face for convenient video calling, then the camera can capture the user's face clearly, but the field of view becomes limited to mainly the upper part or entire face, losing surrounding environment details
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines images from two separate cameras (front-facing camera and rear-facing camera) into a single composite image. The front-facing camera captures the user's face clearly, while the rear-facing camera captures the surrounding environment. These two images are merged through image fusion technology to create a comprehensive view that includes both the user's face and the background environment, thereby expanding the effective field of view without sacrificing face capture quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a light reflective apparatus (such as a mirror or prism) as an intermediary component. This apparatus redirects light from the rear-facing camera to the front-facing camera or processing unit, enabling the system to capture both the user's face and the surrounding environment simultaneously. The light reflective apparatus acts as a mediator that allows the front-facing camera to receive additional optical information that would otherwise be inaccessible.
2Device complexity
If only the front-facing camera is used for video calling, then the device structure remains simple, but the user experience deteriorates due to poor visibility of the local user's surroundings for the peer user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges functionality of multiple cameras by combining images from the front-facing camera and rear-facing camera. This allows the system to provide enhanced user experience (showing both face and surroundings) while managing device complexity through integrated image processing algorithms that fuse the two image sources into a seamless composite view.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the camera system multi-functional by enabling the front-facing camera to serve dual purposes: capturing the user's face directly and capturing the surrounding environment through the light reflective apparatus. This universality allows a single camera system to perform multiple functions that would otherwise require separate dedicated components.
3Area of moving object
If the rear-facing camera is used to capture a wider view, then the field of view expands, but the camera cannot directly capture the user's face since it faces away from the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a light reflective apparatus (mirror or prism) as an intermediary to redirect light from the rear-facing camera. This apparatus captures light reflected from the user's face and directs it to the rear-facing camera sensor, enabling the rear-facing camera to capture both the surrounding environment and the user's face simultaneously, thus maintaining wide field of view while achieving accurate face capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical path dimension by introducing a light reflective apparatus that redirects light at different angles. Instead of the rear-facing camera directly facing the user, the system uses reflected light paths to bring facial information into the rear-facing camera's field of view, effectively adding a dimensional transformation to the optical capture process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively expands the field of view of the front-facing camera by fusing images from both cameras, enhancing the visual experience for the user during video calls by allowing the peer user to see more of the local user's surroundings.
Implementation Method 1
the light reflective apparatus is configured to reflect light incident thereto from different directions to the lenses
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of this application provide an electronic device and a picture processing method. The electronic device includes a rear cover, a front-facing camera, a rear-facing camera, and a light reflective apparatus. The light reflective apparatus may be switched between a usage state and an idle state. The picture processing method includes: controlling the light reflective apparatus to switch from the idle state to the usage state, when an operation that a user enables the front-facing camera is detected, where the usage state of the light reflective apparatus indicates that the light reflective apparatus is located on an object-facing side of the rear-facing camera and is configured to reflect a picture in a direction in which the front-facing camera is located, so that the rear-facing camera captures the picture reflected by the light reflective apparatus; separately obtaining a picture captured by the front-facing camera and a picture captured by the rear-facing camera; processing the picture captured by the rear-facing camera; and fusing the picture captured by the front-facing camera and a picture obtained by processing the picture captured by the rear-facing camera. In this application, a field of view of a picture taken by the front-facing camera can be increased with relatively low costs.