Tech giant Apple has reportedly acquired SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), a German eye-tracking firm, according to MacRumors.
SMI has made significant advancements in eye-tracking research with proprietary eyeglass hardware; the company is also working on consumer-focused applications like eye-tracking for virtual reality. Just last year, the company announced it had created an eye-tracking development kit for the HTC Vive VR headset.
Here was what Apple told TechCrunch about the acquisition:
“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
There are no publicly declared information on how much Apple paid for the company or whether it will operate independently.
This move by Apple is similar to Google’s acquisition of Eyefluence last October. The company acquired by Google is an eye-tracking startup that uses eye movements to make interface selections. Just last month, Apple rolled out ARKit, a set of APIs for developers interested in building augmented reality experiences. The company also brought VR development support to the company’s highest-end desktop, the iMac Pro.
