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AI-Powered Photography “Is Getting There:” DxOMark

Artificial intelligence-powered photography, both mobile and otherwise, is still often used as “just a marketing slogan” but that doesn’t mean it’s not making strides toward becoming a commercial reality, according to French imaging company DxOMark Image Labs. In an interview with AndroidHeadlines, DxOMark Marketing VP Nicolas Touchard said “true” AI imaging features are yet to arrive to handsets, though the industry as a whole “is getting there” and is ought to deliver them eventually, having praised recent advancements in the field as major steps toward truly intelligent imaging.

One particular area where Mr. Touchard is expecting significant advancements in the near future is the use of AI for improving the ability of camera software to automatically adjust shooting parameters depending on the lighting conditions and the subject itself. Breakthroughs in this field won’t just allow for objectively better vanilla photography but should also debut improvements in terms of stylized shots as companies gain a better understanding of the kind of look users want to achieve, according to the industry veteran. They’ll be able to do so by analyzing the vast amount of imaging data taken with their smartphones, as well as images taken from the Internet. As a result, AI is likely to significantly improve beautification modes, base skin color rendering, and generally do a better job at delivering results that are in accordance with user preferences than existing solutions do, Mr. Touchard said, adding that “famous Californian companies” and numerous firms from China are presently investing significant resources in such technologies.

AI emerged as one of the most dominant trends in the mobile industry this year, with everyone from Samsung and Google to LG and Huawei touting machine learning and related technologies as some of the main selling points of their new smartphones. The current capabilities of consumer-ready AI solutions remain somewhat limited, both in terms of photography and general-purpose use, especially as R&D priorities differ among OEMs in a significant manner; whereas Samsung is presently striving to teach Bixby how to control its devices as best as possible so as to make saying “take a selfie” faster than manually opening the Camera app and doing the same, Huawei is trying to make its AI better at understanding whether you’re trying to photograph a bowl of noodles or a dessert and adjust its shooting parameters accordingly for optimal results. The top ten smartphones on DxOMark’s current list of the world’s best mobile cameras all place a large focus on AI photography and their successors are widely expected to follow suit.