Abstract

When video recording with flash is activated and the camera is placed on a surface that blocks the camera or in an enclosed space, the camera does not automatically transition to sleep mode. As a result, the LED of the flash continues to operate at full current which may cause overheating and can lead to melting of the LED lens, which is a safety concern. This disclosure describes techniques to automatically detect if a device camera is blocked during video recording or other conditions during which the flash is used. The detection is based on analysis of captured images from the camera as well as from available peripheral sensors to determine if the camera is covered. If the camera is covered, the LED current is set to a low, safe value; else, the LED continues to operate at normal current to provide flash functionality. In various implementations, detecting whether the camera is covered may be based on a voting mechanism where data from each sensor is used to produce a respective likelihood that the camera is covered, and the likelihoods are aggregated to make a determination of whether to adjust the LED current. Detection of whether the camera is blocked may be performed periodically while the LED is on. By automatically dimming the LED, the described techniques reduce power consumption and improve device safety.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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