Apple Looks to Stabilize iPhone Video Recording Using Accelerometer/Gyroscope

Apple is looking to stabilize iPhone video recording using the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, according to a patent filing found by AppleInsider.

Apple notes that the goal of video stabilization is to revise an original video sequence to mimic a sequence that would have been obtained if a camera captured the video from an ideal or a specified motion trajectory.

Increasingly, consumer capture devices are provisioned with motion detection devices such as accelerometers and/or gyroscopes. The motion detection devices can provide metadata that indicates motion effects of a camera during video capture, however, even though the motion detectors provide data relating to global motion of the camera, the level of shakiness between frames often is comparable to the noise level of the motion detector data. Such high level of the noise in data prohibits directly use of accelerometer data in video stabilization.


Apple presents a control system for video processes that selectively control the operation of motion stabilization processes.

According to the present invention, motion sensor data indicative of motion of a mobile device may be received and processed. A determination may be made by comparing processed motion sensor data to a threshold. Based on the determination, motion stabilization may be suspended on select portions of a captured video sequence.

Read More [via AppleInsider]