The HomePod of the future will read your shakes, waves and dance moves as gesture control

Gesture detection would require a future HomePod that is equipped with a depth image sensor, or an optical one — like a camera. This would be the gizmo that allows the HomePod to scan its surroundings, recognise scene geometry and then monitor for any changes, like someone entering the room.

Any detected changes would then be associated with a given pre-set intent, which would in turn trigger some sort of automation. This, however, also means that this future HomePod will not only listen to you 24/7, but also keep an eye on you too. Make of that what you will.

Another cool tidbit was also discovered in the patent. Basically, it would enable the HomePod to learn user patterns, as it is already capable of distinguishing up to 7 user profiles. For example, if one of those is an elderly person, who has trouble hearing properly, the HomePod might detect that and adjust its audio accordingly, in order to provide a better experience for that user.

Overall, the patent is more involved with how this detection would theoretically work, and not with how the gathered information would be processed. While the patent itself has been granted, we can’t say for sure that it means anything. Tech giants like Apple submit hundreds of patents yearly, and few of them actually come to fruition. Regardless, pointing at your HomePod to get a party started will definitely be fun.