Apple buys PrimeSense - the company that helped develop Kinect

Xbox Kinect – some people love it and other loath it. Whether or not you believe that the Xbox’s Kinect accessory is the future of human interaction and gaming or not, it is hard to argue away the amazing technology that is contained within the unit. This technology was actually designed by an Israeli company called PrimeSense – a company that Apple has just bought.

According to Israeli news site, Calcalist, the acquisition of PrimeSense by Apple Inc. has finalized in a deal worth $345 million. There were previous rumors that Apple might gobble up the company for a little over a quarter of a million dollars, and it seems those rumors were true.

Before you worry about the future of Kinect on the Xbox platform, the second generation accessory for the upcoming unit was designed in house by Microsoft. So, what does Apple plan to do with PrimeSense? Rumors are pointing to possible motion-tracking and gesture based interaction with iOS device.

Apple appears to be following the path of Microsoft a bit – let’s see where it takes them.

Source: Calcalist; via iMore

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Michael Archambault