[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXKqIr4cjyo]
Globes reports that Apple has completed its purchase of PrimeSense, the Israel-based firm behind the technology in Microsoft’s Kinect sensor, and Apple confirmed the acquisition to AllThingsD. As noted earlier this year, the deal will cost Apple somewhere between $300-350 million. PrimeSense previously denied any talks with Apple.
On Friday, the acquisition of Israeli gesture recognition company PrimeSense Ltd. by Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) was closed. The deal, which has not been formally announced, was made at a company value of $300-350 million, and follows lengthy negotiations by PrimeSense with several potential buyers.
The sensor firm is no longer working with Microsoft, as the Xbox manufacturer has moved to all in-house work for its latest Kinect-based technology. With Apple reportedly working on a gesture-controlled 3D interface, possibly for some sort of television-related product (or a media hub to rival the Xbox One, perhaps?), the PrimeSense purchase makes perfect sense.
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Apple TV more likely then in a mobile device, if in a mobile device I can see just a few features implemented , not a full fledge gesture controlled mobile device. Just doesn’t make sense for that. Prolly more features like GS4/Note3 but better implemented and not as laggy.
I think Apple will use this in some non-obvious ways in addition to the Apple TV UI.
They can make intelligently supporting multiple users on one device painless by recognizing who is using it. On a TV, parental settings could be enforced without pin codes, by refusing to show R-rated or more adult content if children are in the room. Even if an adult is watching and controlling a TV, if a child walks into the room the TV can go to a kid-safe screen or show.
They can have an iPad refuse to interact with touch input from a user in a moving vehicle if that person is sitting in the driver’s seat. If the user is in any other seat, it works normally.
Ugh, why Apple? Just, why? Why do you have to get in to this totally invasive nightmare of scanning people and their homes and funneling that information back to the illicit government?
Uh, that’s one way of looking at it. I hope you had a better christmas.