One of the biggest problems with Siri is the background noise. The voice assistant is unreliable in crowded spaces with background noise. It is a significant limitation on devices such as Apple Vision Pro, AirPods Max, and AirPods Pro. Apple’s latest patent talks about addressing the issue with the help of self-mixing interferometry sensors to detect user input.
The patent titled “Wearable Skin Vibration or Silent Gesture Detection”refers to wearable electronic devices. Meanwhile, illustrations depict how an AirPods Max user can use Siri and other voice command-related features with relative ease in crowded areas. The embodiments include “a self-mixing interferometry sensor mounted to the head-mountable frame and operable to emit a beam of light toward a location on the user’s head.” Meanwhile, a microphone is used as a command interpreter to detect the user’s voiced command.
How Does It Work?
According to the patent, the self-mixing interferometry signal can detect skin deformation. It works on the basis that whenever we speak a part of our skin is deformed. Furthermore, the AirPods can be configured to direct the beam of light toward a location in the ear of the user and the command interpreter will be able to identify the command based on skin vibration patterns. Other variations of the device include sunglasses such as Apple Vision Pro. In this case, the self-mixing interferometry will emit a beam of light towards the temporal bone of the user. Meanwhile, the command interpreter will be able to recognize the voice command from the user.
Skin deformation is crucial for the setup to work. When the user gives a voice command in noisy environment, the voice might get drowned. In such cases, the device can use skin vibrations to detect the command. The system is set to ignore voice commands beyond a certain threshold. This way, the device can ignore unwanted voice commands.
The patent’s scope is wide. It can be used in many Apple products, including Apple Vision Pro, AirPods Max, and AirPods Pro. Once implemented, you can use voice authentication to unlock Apple Vision Pro, use Siri in a crowded environment, etc.
Source- Patent: US20240159512