Qualcomm intros Clear Sight dual-camera system for smartphones

Smartphones with dual-rear camera are on the rise. HTC introduced the feature with its One M8 flagship in 2014, and this year several phone manufacturers like Apple, LG, Huawei and Xiaomi have used this technology on their flagship product. Now Qualcomm has announced its own dual camera technology called Clear Sight. The chip maker describes Clear Sight as processing power for smartphones with dual cameras.

Clear Sight is powered by Qualcomm's Spectra ISP (Image Signal Processor) and is designed to produce photos with improved dynamic range, sharpness and less noise in low light conditions. According to Qualcomm the Clear Sight setup mimics the functions of cones and rods in the human eye to capture better photos.

Clear Sight technology has two cameras, each with its own lens and image sensor. Similar to human eyes, the lenses have identical focal length, which means they see the same distance. But each camera has different image sensors – one features a color sensor, while the other has a black and white sensor. The black and white sensor is capable of capturing 3 times more light, better contrast and improved sharpness in low light conditions.

The process is similar to what Huawei used in its flagship the P9' dual cameras, which featured separate RGB and monochrome sensor.

Qualcomm's Clear Sight will only be utilized by the company's premium processor including Snapdragon 820 and Snapdragon 821, both of which have Spectra ISP. Clear Sight can be expected to be seen on smartphones launched in 2017.