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Apple patent describes use of curved image sensor to design small camera module

Lars Rehm | Published: Jan 28, 2016 at 19:49 UTC

The team at Apple Insider has come across a patent that was recently granted to Apple describing how a spherical image sensor can be used to design a very compact camera module. The sensor is spherically curved and eliminates the need to correct for curvature of field, meaning a simpler, brighter (in this case F1.6) and ultimately smaller lens design can be used. The downside to the design is barrel distortion, the strength of which varies with focal length, aperture and other parameters. Apple proposes to correct for it through a software algorithm.

To boil it down, a curved lens translates to a simpler lens design, as the need to flatten the curvature of field is removed. The lens can be smaller and brighter, and will give more consistent performance across the sensor, as light is hitting each pixel straight on rather than at an angle. You can read more about the technology in our discussion of Sony's curved sensor design.

As usual, there is no way of knowing if this patent will ever see the light of day in an actual product, but given the consumer's desire for ever thinner and smaller devices, and the camera module being one of the limiting factors in this respect, it's no surprise Apple and other mobile manufacturers are looking at ways of reducing camera module dimensions without negatively impacting on image quality.

Source: USPTO | Via: Apple Insider

@larsrehm

Comments

Total comments: 27

Cooke Triplet, revisited.

0 upvotes

The eye has a spherical image sensor and it works fairly well for me. No zoom though. Yet.

0 upvotes

Do they tell how to make that sensor as this isn't something new really but failed during manufacturing in the past.

0 upvotes

well at least its something , for real though, this concept only really work well for a fix focal lens with a relatively mid range aperture and not moderate wide coverage and upward. The difficulty of making the sensor anything of more substantial size also mean it will be something of typical consumer DC only .. good for phone I guess but not really too inspiring.

There is more to just distortion that needed correction.

0 upvotes

And they will name it Retina Camera.

3 upvotes

This is like a 1/5" sensor... not even newsworthy.

0 upvotes

Because we all know Apple invented the parabola.

0 upvotes

The only thing Apple invented is the curved corner of the iphone.

6 upvotes

Not to mention they changed the meaning of the term phone. I am an Android user, BTW.

Comment edited 7 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Quoting from the article itself: "The downside to the design is barrel distortion".
Hey, what about the other remaining optical aberrations? There is no such thing as a silver bullet.

0 upvotes

Didn't God already have the patent when he designed us. It's times like these when I think how primitive mankind is. "I found this you can't make one."

2 upvotes

God cant patent this because he isnt real.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

8 upvotes

Which god? Zeus? Re? Allah? Manitou? Jehovah? Ahura Mazda? This allways confuses me, please,be more particular which one of the bunch do you worship.

Comment edited 26 seconds after posting

1 upvote

I don't need no patent office for I AM THOR! GOD OF THUNDERRRRRRR!

0 upvotes

I think his point is this technology has been around longer than the species.

2 upvotes

Precisely.

0 upvotes

His point was related to God's creating all things. Then you went ballistic with atheist illogic.

What caused us, and the universe? Science (us measuring stuff) and the Atheists say it all started with the "Big Bang". Well where did the "big bang" come from? Doesn't science say it also started from an infinitesimal point of nothing? UNEXPLAINED by them. If there was absolutely nothing spiritual along with nothing else at all(before); then how does nothing beget nothing? Logic much?

You can try to gloss over the fact; that ANY DNA mutation is anything but atrophy, corrupting an absolutely perfect DNA order; but science would laugh at you. So is our total body design also and all animals. Plus, we 100% requires this cradle of life; that we call Earth. All of that is inextricable intertwined with a madding order of the entire universe. According to mathematics alone; neither 3 X together is chance. RIDICULOUSLY not chance. If you'd rather go with aliens than God Almighty, NOT logic.

Comment edited 6 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

Welcome to the real world Neo(dp)

1 upvote

Neo- please don't mis represent Science. Also looking at history, there are many things "unexplained" attributed to gods that came to have explanations, so I would be more careful to use the "currently unexplained" as rather strong evidence a god or something must exist (and then which god or gods?).

Comment edited 48 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Even if I think religious discussion is offtopic here, I must strongly oppose that we atheists worship "big bang theory" as some kind of dogma. It's something that cannot be explained for now and the "big bang" is basically a scientific token for the unknown event of beginning of the universe. If there was some more advanced being, or it was a natural phenomenon not known to us, everything is possible. We only oppose biblical (and other) fairy tales. Science can't disprove possible existence of "higher being" (call it as you like), but it pretty much disproves all the Biblical dogmas and similar superstitious tales.

0 upvotes

My eye has a curved image sensor. no way I am paying Apple for rights. My eye dates from 1969.

6 upvotes

I thought Sony had the curved sensor locked down.

3 upvotes

It seems as if the patent office has been issuing conflicting patents for years. My guess is that with enough money, anyone could file and obtain a patent on the same curved sensor concept as Apple, Sony and then go into the patent trolling business. The system is completely broken.

0 upvotes

Difference is, Sony has a curved sensor camera already on the market.

3 upvotes

You can't patent the "shape" of a sensor any more than you can patent the "shape" of a basketball. You can get a patent for a particular way to design or produce the curved sensor. But the idea of a curved sensor is open to anyone who wants to manufacture one.

1 upvote

I don't think this is a patent for a curved sensor. It looks like a particular configuration of optical elements and a curved sensor. I assume the lens elements are described in some detail in the patent. This looks more like a patent for a specific camera module that would use a sensor like that.

It looks a bit like all those lens patents from camera companies, only the last element is curved, not flat.

Also, did anyone notice the dimensions? 1.8mm and 1.95mm. This thing is tiny.

2 upvotes

@EthanP99
Yeah if i'm not mistaken Sony confirmed that Cybershot KW1 has 19MP 1/2.3" curved sensor with 21mm F2.0 lens.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 27