Apple has recently introduced the second generation of HomePod, its smart speaker with smart home and auto-adjustment capabilities to suit the acoustics of the room it’s placed in. Now, according to an Apple Insider report, the company has received a new patent that will enable HomePod to detect user activities like dancing, waving, gesturing, or physical movement. With the new patented technology, HomePod’s scanning and sensing ability will become much more precise.
The newly granted patent is called “Multi-Media Computing Or Entertainment System For Responding To User Presence And Activity”. Reportedly, Apple will include monitoring of users’ activity in its smart speakers. The new system will enable the HomePod to perform necessary tasks without any additional orders from the user. For example, the device will be able to detect if the room is empty, so it can stop playing music.
“[The] intelligent system acquires a depth image of a scene surrounding the system,” says Apple’s patent. “A scene geometry may be extracted from the depth image and elements of the scene may be monitored. ” Apple says, “[Then] user activity in the scene is monitored and analyzed to infer user desires or intent with respect to the system.”
The new “intelligent system” will recognize the users’ wishes with hand gesture movements only, says apple. Users will be able to change the volume just by simple hand gestures, which will be interpreted by the HomePod using real-time depth information. “When a system has an understanding of its users and the physical environment surrounding the user,” says the patent adding “the system can better approximate and fulfill user desires, whether expressed literally or impliedly.”
According to the Apple Insider report, the patent is primarily focused on utilizing the detection of gesture, movement, or presence and its interpretation.
