The main camera in the Mi8, Xiaomi flagship device, will be a 3D camera developed by Israeli company Mantis Vision. With the launch of the new device at the AWE exhibition in California, the two companies announced this strategic cooperation between them.
After the launching of the iPhoneX, which contains a 3D camera for face scanning, it was only a matter of time before another mobile phone company included a 3D camera in its device. Xiaomi's Mi8 is the first Android device in the world with 3D photography and scanning technology included as part of its front camera features.
Mantis Vision's camera is based on the structured light technology developed by the company over the past three years. The technology simulates human vision by integrating the images it receives into a single 3D picture. The camera functions as one of the eyes, and the light point constitutes the second eye. The camera absorbs the light rays and composes the full picture.
Mantis Vision is proud that its technology has reached a development stage in which it is compact and worthwhile, provides the largest number of light points, and is capable of producing a higher resolution 3D image than that of the iPHone X. The company's 3D photography and scanning technology were developed for use in professional 3D scanners and engines for industrial companies and for criminal law enforcement agencies. The technology was later adapted for use in 3D cameras and sensors for mobile phones.
"Apple came out with a 3D app whose main use was for facial ID. This is a very basic use. We believe that a 3D camera can provide much more," says Mantis Vision founding partner and CEO Gur Arie Bitan. "The big driver for this ecosystem was always the fact that people want to photograph and share content, so they buy the best camera. Here, too, the big market that's going to emerge around this technology is the subject of augmented reality - the place where you can create, share, and enjoy 3D content. We're therefore working with various apps in order to facilitate user generated content for augmented reality and mixed reality."
Last March, South Korean newspaper "The Bell" reported that Mantis Vision would cooperate with Samsung, which invested in the company three years ago, for the purpose of installing its 3D camera in the Galaxy S10 device. The companies, however, did not respond to the report, which was not verified. Bitan told "Globes" that despite developments in the sector, mobile phone companies have up until now been worried about adopting the new technology: "We were ready to go to the mobile telephony market as early as 2013 and we worked on prototypes with various players from all over the world: Chinese, South Korean, and US. We worked with Google on developing such a camera for the Tango tablet, but in general, it's a very conservative market. Despite everything, they all waited for Apple to make the decision.
"As a company that wants to be first to market, Xiaomi decided to run with it very fast, while other players waited to see which way the wind was blowing before making a decision. Cooperation with Xiaomi was possible because of the joint company we founded in China with Luenmei Quantum in order to establish our standing in the China region. Cooperation began towards the end of last year, and there are already 30 employees in the Chinese company; this is pretty fast growth."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 31, 2018
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