I am currently working on an iOS app that can take a picture programmatically using AVFoundation libraries like AVCaptureDevice through a custom button.
The new requirement is that the camera should automatically take a picture when the camera session detects something specific. For example, if the camera is open, and I line up an apple to fill a certain circle part of the capture screen, it should take the picture automatically. We can see this auto capture feature in some banking apps when you submit a mobile check deposit.
Does anyone know of existing libraries(open-source or proprietary) that can analyze images in real time while a user is taking a picture?
The first thing you are going to need to do is decide how you want to detect the apple. You can do this using shape detection, image recognition, or various other methods. This is important because you need to know the approach you want to take before you can identify the best way to implement it.
Once you know how you are going to identify the apple, the easiest way to do real-time image processing like this would be to use an existing augmented reality SDK. For example:
If you are feeling really adventurous you could roll your own using AForge or a similar library. I have taken this approach in the past for basic shape detection projects.
The reason I suggest using an existing AR SDK is because generally they provide a lot of the glue between the camera feed and their API for you and it takes a lot of leg work out of the equation. Even though you won't be using any of the actual "augmentation" part of their SDKs, you can still take advantage of the detection part.
No matter what approach you take, you can think about it in the simplest terms of looking a picture, and figuring out if the item you want is in that picture. How do you decide? In most cases you look for a specific shape or pattern.