Your next smartphone may just come with a depth sensor baked right in the camera – if Qualcomm has anything to say about it. The Qualcomm Depth-sensing Camera is a new camera technology for future Android devices. It is part of the Qualcomm Spectra Module Programme, and may be included in Qualcomm’s Snapdragon future line of SoCs.
The new camera technology is made possible thanks to new advancements in camera module manufacturing. This includes a new camera architecture that combines advancements in computer vision, image quality and power efficiency.
The second-generation Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor (ISP) will combine several camera modules into a single unit. This includes an iris authentication module, a passive depth sensing module, and an active depth sensing module.
In addition, the company admitted that a power efficient yet high performing camera ISP is needed to bring the next generation depth-sensing camera module into fruition. It hopes that this new advancement is the next step heading towards that goal.
What we can see in the future are perhaps smaller smartphones that can emulate or even exceed Google’s Project Tango (like the ones in the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and ASUS Zenphone AR) without sacrificing size, power or performance. Imagine your smartphone featuring this technology – without any ugly camera bump at the back.
(Source : Qualcomm )
