Israeli publication Calcalist.co.il reports Apple has purchased PrimeSense, the company that originally developed the technology behind Microsoft’s Kinect, the body motion sensor used in video games and other apps on the Redmond firm’s Xbox 360 gaming console. The valuation of the transaction is reportedly somewhere in the $345 million range.
According to the report, a delegation of PrimeSense senior executives visited Apple’s engineering offices in recent days. The purchase would bolster Apple’s living room TV interface offerings and allow Apple to add controls with body movements and hand gestures to its products.
It was reported by Calcalist in July that Apple was considering a purchase of PrimeSense, and the price was estimated to be in the neighborhood of $280M. PrimeSense denied any such talks at the time.
Apple has reportedly been working on a 3D gesture interface for their rumored Apple television, and may have previously licensed some of the Israeli firm’s technology.
While Apple owns its own patents on similar 3D technology, they may have decided it was more efficient to purchase a firm with a proven track-record in the 3D gesture control field.
While Microsoft used PrimeSense’s technology in its original Kinect controller, it has reportedly replace the technology with its own in-house technology for the new Kinect unit supplied with the Xbox One.
As is normal in situations such as this PrimeSense issued the usual “no comment”: “PrimeSense is the leading 3D technology in the market. We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and Natural Interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices. We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or recycled rumors.”
