Depth map from AVDepthData different from HEIC file depth data in Photoshop

Question

I am using the following code to extract depth map (by following Apple's own example):

- (nullable AVDepthData *)depthDataFromImageData:(nonnull NSData *)imageData orientation:(CGImagePropertyOrientation)orientation {
    AVDepthData *depthData = nil;

    CGImageSourceRef imageSource = CGImageSourceCreateWithData((CFDataRef)imageData, NULL);
    if (imageSource) {
        NSDictionary *auxDataDictionary = (__bridge NSDictionary *)CGImageSourceCopyAuxiliaryDataInfoAtIndex(imageSource, 0, kCGImageAuxiliaryDataTypeDisparity);
        if (auxDataDictionary) {
            depthData = [[AVDepthData depthDataFromDictionaryRepresentation:auxDataDictionary error:NULL] depthDataByApplyingExifOrientation:orientation];
        }

        CFRelease(imageSource);
    }

    return depthData;
}

And I call this from:

[[PHAssetResourceManager defaultManager] requestDataForAssetResource:[PHAssetResource assetResourcesForAsset:asset].firstObject options:nil dataReceivedHandler:^(NSData * _Nonnull data) {
    AVDepthData *depthData = [self depthDataFromImageData:data orientation:[self CGImagePropertyOrientationForUIImageOrientation:pickedUiImageOrientation]];
    CIImage *image = [CIImage imageWithDepthData:depthData];
    UIImage *uiImage = [UIImage imageWithCIImage:image];
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(uiImage.size);
    [uiImage drawInRect:CGRectMake(0, 0, uiImage.size.width, uiImage.size.height)];
    UIImage *newImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext();
    UIGraphicsEndImageContext();
    NSData *pngData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(newImage);
    UIImage* pngImage = [UIImage imageWithData:pngData];    // rewrap
    UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum(pngImage, nil, nil, nil);
} completionHandler:^(NSError * _Nullable error) {

}];

Here is the result: it's a low quality (and rotated but let's put orientation aside for now) image:

Then I've transferred the original HEIC file, opened in Photoshop, went to Channels, and selected depth map as below:

Here is the result:

It's a higher resolution/quality, correctly oriented depth map. Why is the code (actually Apple's own code at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/avdepthdata/2881221-depthdatafromdictionaryrepresent?language=objc) resulting in lower-quality result?

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 16 '18 at 23:26

I've found the issue. Actually, it was hiding in plain sight. What is obtained from the +[AVDepthData depthDataFromDictionaryRepresentation:error:] method returns disparity data. I've converted it to depth using the following code:

if(depthData.depthDataType != kCVPixelFormatType_DepthFloat32){
    depthData = [depthData depthDataByConvertingToDepthDataType:kCVPixelFormatType_DepthFloat32];
}

(Haven't tried but 16-bit Depth, kCVPixelFormatType_DepthFloat16, should also work well)

After converting disparity to depth, the image is exactly the same as in Photoshop. I should have woken up as I was using CGImageSourceCopyAuxiliaryDataInfoAtIndex(imageSource, 0, kCGImageAuxiliaryDataTypeDisparity); (note the "disparity" in the end) and Photoshop was clearly saying "depth map", converting disparity to depth (or just somehow reading as depth, I honestly don't know the physical encoding, maybe iOS was converting depth to disparity when I was copying the aux data in the first place) on the fly.

Side note: I've also solved the orientation issue by creating the image source directly from [PHAsset requestContentEditingInputWithOptions:completionHandler:] method and passing the contentEditingInput.fullSizeImageURL into CGImageSourceCreateWithURL method. It took care of the orientation.

Depth map from AVDepthData different from HEIC file depth data in Photoshop

1 Answers1