Compared with structured light, ToF camera has the advantages of simple algorithm and high frame rate. The existing laser emission module of speckle structured light will use collimating lens to match DOE, and the emission module of ToF camera only needs laser and Diffuselens. Or directly use LED as the transmitter module, and the baseline of the ToF transmitter module and receiver module can be made smaller, so the overall size of the 3D ToF camera module can be smaller than that of 3D structured light. At the same time, since the working distance of the ToF camera is farther than that of structured light, the application range of the ToF camera can become wider. The TOF module is applied to the front camera of mobile phones, which can realize face unlocking and payment. ToF camera is applied to the rear camera of mobile phones, which can realize applications in vSLAM, AR and other fields, such as AR photography, AR games, ranging, virtual shopping, virtual fitting, indoor positioning and navigation, etc.
Working distance of ToF camera is farther than that of structured light, so it is more suitable for use in the rear camera of mobile phones. The working distance of structured light is very close, so it is generally used in the front camera of the mobile phone for face recognition, such as the new mobile phone of iPhone X.