A system for anticipating the needs of at least one passenger onboard a mobile platform is provided. A passenger seating area for receipt of the passenger includes a seat that has a seat back that moves into a reclined position, a tray table that is operable to be positioned to provide a surface for use by the at least one passenger, and a light source disposed for illumination of at least a portion of the passenger seating area. A camera acquires an image of the passenger, and a gesture control module generates activity data that includes at least one activity that the passenger is performing as recognized in the image of the at least one passenger acquired by the camera. A smart control module moves the seat back, positions the tray table, activates or deactivates the light source and performs combinations thereof based on the activity data.