It can be difficult to fall to business organization as usual during America ’s first stage of reopening withfederal social distancing recommendationsstill in effect . But a novel patent from Apple gives us a glimpse into how one bit of normality — group selfies — might work even when we ’re all at least six feet apart .
As fleck byPatently Appleandthe Verge , this week Apple secured apatentfor “ synthetic group selfies ” so you may snag a picture together without physically being together . It sounds perfect for when you require to project the veneer of friendship for the ‘ gram while still being a mantle hob at family .
Based on the patent practical program , it count like users would be able to ask over other hoi polloi to take a mathematical group selfie with them , and then Apple ’s software would piece their severally taken photos into a single image . This compositing process would run likewise for recorded TV and live streaming effigy too .
Photo: Leon Neal (Getty Images)
Here ’s a glimpse at how it might influence , according to the patent diligence :
All users would have the option of prevent both the group selfie and the original , and they ’d be able to tweak the image as they see fit with the software program ’s editing features . So , for example , if you felt like someone else ’s selfie was stealing your spotlight , you could demote them to the background and put yourself front and center ( where you deserve to be , queen ) .
The letters patent does n’t make it clear just which Apple machine would have access to this feature . It could be exclusive to iPads or iPhones or available on both . And fall in that it was originally filed in July 2018 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office , I have a suspicion that Apple did n’t have the ongoing coronavirus pandemic or societal distancing in mind while first developing this feature . Unless … Apple ’s EXEC have it away something we do n’t . In which case , I ask but two question of their prophetic wisdom : When does 2020 end , and is it any time soon ?
Graphic: United States Patent and Trademark Office
As always , keep in creative thinker that this is only a patent — as in , an innovation Apple ’s tinkering with that could never finish up materializing into a ruined product . So there ’s no telling whether semisynthetic group selfies will ever actually be a thing .
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Graphic: United States Patent and Trademark Office
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