Canon Patents Eye-Controlled AF and Wireless Charging for Cameras
Canon is one of the most prolific companies in the world when it comes to filing patents, making it hard to judge what’s actually coming down the pike. But we really hope its two most recent patents—one for Eye-Controlled Autofocus and another for Wireless Charging—become a reality.
The Japanese patent for Eye-Controlled Autofocus was spotted by Canon News, and it aims to bring the old Canon technology to mirrorless cameras. It describes a system that tracks your eye position, using your gaze to set the autofocus point.
As Canon News points out, the technology at play doesn’t look all that different from what was used in Canon’s old film cameras with Eye-Controlled Focus:
The second patent was submitted in the United States and spotted by Canon Watch. It describes a wireless charging system for cameras and other gadgets. According to the patent, a charging mat would connect to your camera via NFC to determine how much power to dole out, ensuring that output never passes a certain threshold (for safety reasons).
Of course, it’s entirely possible that neither of these ideas will come to be, but given the ubiquity of wireless charging in smartphones, and the fact that Canon has actually used Eye-Controlled Focus in the past, we wouldn’t be surprised to see these innovations IRL before too long.
