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Apple Reportedly Hires Top Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Expert

Apple Reportedly Hires Top Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Expert

By Manish Singh | Updated: 22 January 2016 11:41 IST

Apple is definitely making serious investments in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) space. We've already seen several of company's patents and acquisitions around this nascent technology category, and now there's more evidence. The Cupertino-based company has reportedly hired one of the top experts of virtual and augmented reality.

The firm has reportedly hired Doug Bowman, a top US-based VR researcher who previously held the post as a computer science professor at Virginia Tech. At the university, Bowman was the director of its centre for human-computer interaction for around five years.

The Financial Times reports that Bowman has been awarded with multiple virtual reality and augmented reality prizes. In fact, Bowman was one of the first to receive a $100,000 research grant from Microsoft. Bowman has also worked at Disney's Imagineering team on various objects.

This is not the only indication that Apple is working on what could be a virtual reality headset. Last year, the company acquired Faceshift, a startup that offers real-time motion capture technology. The technology was used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Some other VR startups that Apple has acquired in the past few years include Perceptio and Metaio. A patent, furthermore, last year showed a headset that utilises an iPhone as a VR display. Also thought to be evidence is the acquisition of Emotient, reported earlier this year.

While still in the nascent stage, virtual reality is considered as the next big computing platform. Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung have already made major investments in the field. Several others companies such as Asus have announced their plans to enter the virtual reality space soon.

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