See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
An whiz kid at New York University Poly has just released a new photo app for the iPhone that could end the scourge of closed eyes and sour-puss snapshots once and for all.
“It’s literally flawless,” said John Meyer, the 18-year-old CEO of Tap Media. “It’s a new way to take group photos, and all you have to do is hold up your iPhone.”
Meyer’s new app, Perfect Shot — which he developed in his Brooklyn Heights dorm room — uses the iPhone’s built-in facial recognition capabilities, which Apple users will recognize from the box that appears around their subjects’ faces when taking their picture, and applies that technology to more particular parts of a person’s gaze.
Instead of just tracking the faces, Meyer’s app makes the camera focus on the people’s eyes and mouths, and only snaps a picture when everyone in the picture has both eyes open and a big, toothy grin — no button push required.
“The app tells your phone to analyze your face 100 times per second, but it only takes one picture when everyone’s ready.”
Before releasing his latest app, however, Meyer subjected his software to a grueling testing process that culminated in the ultimate group shot.
A group of 15 of Meyer’s friends were asked to make a whole variety of faces while arrayed in front of a Perfect Shot-armed iPhone, with expressions including eyes closed with smile, eyes open without smile, and some both smiling and with eyes open.
The developer knew his app was ready for release when the iPhone refrained from taking shots until everyone had both their eyes open, and were smiling.
“Once they were all smiling and had their eyes open, it immediately took the shot.”
The young app programer has been making software for smart phones since his freshman year in high school, and has since created over 40 apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Among his many creations include Real Aquarium HD, a suped-up screen saver, which provides encyclopedic information on the sea creatures it displays, and an app for Mac called Film, which brings the power of Instagram to your laptop, complete with extra features, like a powerful search function and the ability to display pictures in a slideshow format.
Meyer also founded the app development studio Tap Media, through which he frequently employs other developers, sometimes at rates of $75-per-hour.
The entrepreneur’s next step is to move into the NYU-Poly-owned DUMBO Incubator on Jay Street, where he plans to work with other tech wizards to develop the apps of the future.