Apple has successfully received a patent to develop functionality for its voice assistant, Siri, that will allow it to read lips. This permission
Apple has successfully received a patent to develop functionality for its voice assistant, Siri , that will allow it to read lips. This permission has been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Apple’s patent application details a way to use silent or vocal movements of users’ lips, which will be captured using accelerometers and gyroscopes. This data will be compared with preliminary data so that Siri or other smart devices can correctly understand the user’s commands.
Experts point out that with this technology, Apple is exploring the possibility of using smart devices without microphones, but with access to Siri. Traditional continuous audio detection and processing requires significant power consumption and processing power even when voice control is not actively used, while the use of motion sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes significantly reduces power costs.
Apple is currently testing simple voice commands initiated by the user’s mouth movements, such as “Hey Siri” or “Next track”.
When such a voice command is recognized, the microphones remain active to determine other tasks.
