Mobile Photo Editing Tool Erases Background Objects

Remove automatically identifies and deletes undesirable background objects like passing cars and people, leaving users with an clutter-free photo.

The app boasts the world's first optical removal software, according to maker Scalado. It works by taking a series of photos in quick succession and then identifying moving objects that obscure the stationary backdrop.

The photo tech firm plans to formally announce Remove at the Mobile World Congress this month, hinting it may soon become a standard part of newly manufactured handsets.

Remove joins Scalado's other photo technologies like "Rewind", which adjusts individual expressions in group shots, and "Faces", which makes sure subjects' eyes are open.

As mobile camera use continues to rise, photo editors like these are now springing up everywhere.

Instagram, the most popular mobile photo editor, is now available on the iPhone, Android and is set to debut on Windows Phone handsets. It lets users share photos across social media platforms, also offering editing tools like vintage filters in sepia tones and various other color saturation levels to boost the creativity and style of mobile snapshots.

Instagram's success has spawned a number of similar apps, like "Hipstamatic", which edits photos to mimic the look and feel of shots taken by a plastic toy camera.

The "Vignette" Android app also simulates low-fi cameras of the past, as well as providing filters that evoke cinematic still shots.

The "Super 8" app, meanwhile, helps people make vintage-style movies using various filters and lenses, even letting filmmakers run credits at the end of their creations.

As mobile phone cameras slowly replace low-tech versions and digital cameras become artifacts of the past for most consumers, photo editing apps like these and Scalado's will likely become increasingly popular.