Apple patents HomePod control system with integrated camera

The HomePod is the smart speaker of the Big Apple which saw the light of day in June 2017. Over three years later, Apple introduced us to its little brother: the HomePod Mini. This powerful speaker retains all the benefits of the original HomePod in a small footprint. However, innovation at the material level must progress if Apple wishes to perpetuate user support for such a product. Apple’s latest patent shows what they called ‘Gaze control’,

a camera control system that could be included in Apple’s next generation smart speaker.

Controlling HomePod with your gaze may soon be possible

This patent refers to the control of electronic devices. In some examples, the electronic device uses the gaze information to activate a digital assistant. […] electronics use the information from the gaze to identify an external device on which to act. […] the electronic device provides an indication which distinguishes the different speakers.

This is the description used by Apple to define its new patent ‘Device control using gaze information ” which was registered on December 8 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This new patent hints at what the future of Apple’s HomePod might be. The integration of a camera on smart speaker this would allow the operating system to incorporate new variables to improve product handling with Siri.

Three clear assumptions about what this technology would entail are presented throughout the detailed explanation of the patent. First, it would allow the power detect who is speaking

and allow access to information or not. In other words, a Face ID camouflaged in a smart speaker that would give you access or not. Second, the identification of products to interact with: automatic detection of products compatible with HomeKit, for example, using ARKit technology.

And finally, the detection of the person speaking in case there are several people and the requests are made like: “Hey Siri turn on this light”. In this case, the user would point or look at the product in question which would be connected to the system through HomeKit. In this case, user detection, lamp detection and action performance would ultimately be mixed.