Comparing iPhone 12 Pro's LiDAR Scanner with ToF sensors for AR and low-light photography

ChatGPT says:

The iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR Scanner (Light Detection and Ranging) significantly boosts depth-sensing capabilities for AR and low-light photography, and operates quite differently — and more effectively — than traditional Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors.

LiDAR vs. Traditional ToF: The Core Difference

1. AR (Augmented Reality)
   1. Instant Scene Mapping: LiDAR rapidly maps an environment by bouncing infrared (IR) light off surfaces and calculating the time it takes to return. This allows AR apps to instantly place virtual objects on real-world surfaces without requiring scanning time.
   2. Better Occlusion: Virtual objects are more realistically occluded behind real-world ones. For instance, a digital dog walks behind your couch, not through it.
   3. Improved Tracking: Movement and spatial awareness are more fluid and responsive, even in dim environments.
2. Low-Light Photography
   1. Faster Autofocus in the Dark: LiDAR enables the camera to precisely measure distances to subjects, making autofocus up to 6x faster in low light.
   2. Enhanced Portrait Mode: Works even in Night Mode, where traditional cameras fail to detect edges and background depth accurately.
   3. Refined Depth Mapping: Enables more natural background blur (bokeh) in photos due to improved segmentation.
3. Why It Matters: The Engineering Leap: While traditional ToF sensors work well for general depth estimation, Apple’s LiDAR delivers real-time spatial awareness that’s fast, consistent, and reliable across lighting conditions.
   1. Direct Time-of-Flight (dToF) used in LiDAR gives more granular distance measurements per pixel than iToF.
   2. Apple fuses LiDAR data with Neural Engine processing for smarter depth analysis and contextual AR.

In Summary, iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR Scanner is a leap forward from traditional ToF tech. It:

1. 1. Provides faster and more accurate depth sensing
   2. Enables rich AR experiences and real-time object placement
   3. Drastically improves low-light camera performance

LiDAR doesn’t just see depth—it understands space. And in the realm of computational photography and AR, that makes all the difference.