Today at its annual Future Lens 2024 event, innovative technology brand TECNO unveiled its three latest innovative breakthroughs: an all-new imaging matrix and two advanced imaging technologies. The innovative TECNO Image Matrix (TIM) is a new AI imaging “brain” that restructures and optimizes power to enhance imaging processes, power new and optimized imaging functions and create more exceptional images. Meanwhile, EVS Dynamic Shot technology perfects capture of subjects in motion, and Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto enables more stable long-range shooting.
Future Lens 2024 was the fourth iteration of TECNO’s signature imaging event and showcased TECNO’s commitment to cutting-edge, user-centric innovation with a focus on AI-powered imaging. Taking place this year in Chongqing, China, attendees including smartphone and photography enthusiasts, industry leaders, and reporters from across the media reveled in the hotbed of learning, discussion, and idea sharing. Culminating with a tour of TECNO’s R&D lab and its most automated factory, the event inspired thoughts of future imaging possibilities, and highlighted TECNO’s relentless pursuit of excellence in mobile imaging technology.
TECNO Image Matrix – An All-new Imaging “Brain” for the AI Era
This year, TECNO has invested heavily to become an industry leader in the realm of mobile AI technologies. With its new AI Vision strategy, the brand’s “practical” AI is being quickly implemented in imaging, making TECNO a leader in the development and application of AI technologies in emerging markets. As it has been exploring new ways to integrate AI into the imaging experience, the brand has faced one fundamental challenge from the start: smartphone computing power, in general, is insufficient to support more numerous and more complex AI operations.
As a result, TECNO developed the new TECNO Image Matrix – a new “brain” for AI-powered imaging that reimagines the whole imaging process to optimize computational power and deliver rapid, high-quality image processing.
The new matrix is based on the optimization of the data pipeline with newly upgraded TAPS (TECNO Algorithm Process Stack) underlying architecture as the technical foundation. It builds a fully intelligent process from image capture to post-processing, aiming to significantly improve the efficiency and quality of image processing, and provide global users with an excellent shooting experience and professional-level image output.
The TECNO Image Matrix structure is based on the four stages of image creation. From bottom to top, the first layer is the Hardware Foundation Layer with the four major image processing units – camera hardware, display, SOC and sensor. The second layer, the De-construction Layer, is composed of 10 elemental imaging algorithms, such as noise reduction, stabilization and correction.
The third layer is the Engine Re-construction Layer. In this layer, TECNO built a technical core foundation called TAPS (TECNO Algorithm Process Stack) that supports the transformation of AI capabilities, allowing algorithm processing to be performed well and quickly. This crucial and unique layer features four AI-driven imaging engines: AI RAW enhances low-light and backlit scenes, while improving image clarity, sharpness and color; AI SNAP enables lightning-fast image capture without lag, ensuring that users never miss a moment; AIGC Studio empowers a suite of tools for image enhancement and generation; and AI UT (Universal Tone) automatically restores and enhances skin tones, ensuring that portrait images reflect true-to-life beauty.
The synergy of these four engines delivers an unparalleled AI-powered imaging experience for users, optimizing color, scene, and image quality, with high dynamic night view capabilities. These enhancements are realized in the top layer, the Application Layer, where users will enjoy the advantages. By restructuring the pipeline and redirecting computational power to the AI-driven engines, the TECNO Image Matrix acts as the backbone of the new and optimized functions – AI Shooting Quality++, Portrait Master, Video Master, AI Snap and AI Image Studio.
EVS Dynamic Snapshot – Capturing Subjects in Motion with Crystal Clarity
Besides the TECNO Image Matrix, TECNO has also developed a further two AI-powered imaging technologies that tackle common user pain-points. Firstly, EVS Dynamic Snapshot tackles the difficulties faced when photographing moving subjects. Often when shooting, the still parts of a captured frame are sharp, but the moving parts appear blurry because motion trajectories are difficult to capture.
EVS Dynamic Snapshot technology overcomes the limitations of traditional snapshot methods and the light intake constraints of compact cameras to enhance the camera’s ability to capture motion.
Whereas traditional cameras collect pixels frame-by-frame, TECNO’s solution captures the complete motion path of a subject. The technology focuses solely on moving subjects, using EVS pixels to record motion data. By combining traditional CMOS with DVS high-frequency circuits, EVS Dynamic Snapshot captures ultra-dense motion data. It uses high dynamic tracking to intelligently lock onto moving subjects, while also focusing on pixel changes at an ultra-high frequency, making it possible to take sharp, full-frame images, even of fast-moving subjects. The technology’s AI algorithms combine static objects captured by the RGB camera with moving objects detected by EVS. By utilizing motion data provided by EVS, the RGB camera’s handling of motion blur for moving subjects is optimized, resulting in a single, sharp, and complete photo.
Whether capturing a majestic bird in flight or high-speed motorsports action, this next-generation tailor-made technology allows users to take high-speed, crystal-clear dynamic snapshots better than ever.
Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto – Super Stable Zoom to Eliminate Blurring
The other AI-powered technology unveiled by TECNO at Future Lens 2024 is Tap Any Zoom Dual Prism Telephoto technology. The technology addresses the three major challenges of telephoto shooting, namely focusing difficulties, frequent blurring and non-existent room for re-framing.
TECNO’s Tap Any Zoom technology employs a dual prism design, lens-shift optical image stabilization and intelligent AI algorithms to help users capture incredible telephoto shots.
Simply by double-tapping a subject that you want to capture (in 1x/0.6x scene mode), the camera instantly zooms to the optimal level (up to 30x) for fast and precise framing. The lens-shift optical image stabilization, together with the dual-prism wide swing angle, effectively mitigates external vibrations, ensuring shots are sharp, stable and crystal clear.
The dual prism offers an expansive shooting area, with the ability to capture images up to with 14 times the zoom of a standard 125mm focal length lens. This enables ultra-wide-angle capture with greater focal length and perspective, while a long-range scanning function and 400MP pixel auto-assembly ensure perfect high-resolution imagery. Meanwhile, the telephoto sweep function stitches full-frame shots without distortion, creating high quality shots with re-framing freedom.
Future Lens 2024: Beyond the Innovations
The Future Lens 2024 event proved to be another valuable event for all attendees, who gained behind-the-scenes insights into TECNO’s latest imaging technologies.
The day began with an insightful sharing session, involving Laury Bai, TECNO’s Chief Marketing Officer, Huang Xiao Han, Director of TECNO’s Image R&D Center, professional photographer and editor at leading photography media Amateur Photographer, Nigel Atherton, and tech industry expert Nicole Scott. This was followed by a panel discussion offering a further deep dive into TECNO’s AI-powered technologies. After enjoying the strategic release of the new TECNO Image Matrix, attendees were invited to join the discussion of AI-driven industry trends. In the afternoon, attendees enjoyed a tour of TECNO’s cutting-edge factory and research labs.
“We’re excited to share our newest technologies with industry experts and enthusiasts here at Future Lens 2024,” said Huang Xiao Han. “At this year’s event, we are showcasing technologies that reimagine the way we shoot with our smartphones. Guided by our new AI Vision strategy, TECNO is offering new ideas about how we can leverage new AI technologies alongside our advanced imaging technologies to deliver even better imaging experiences for our users.”
As its latest Future Lens event ends, TECNO is strengthening its commitment to breaking boundaries in imaging excellence, standing up as a pioneer of AI innovations while continuing to pursue enhancements in the mobile imaging experience. In line with its “Stop At Nothing” brand philosophy, TECNO aims to provide consumers, especially those in often overlooked emerging markets, with more powerful, intuitive, and creative solutions.
