Apple has confirmed its acquisition of UK-based visual-effects company iKinema, which develops "full body" motion-capture software for games and movies.
iKinema’s technology can be used to turn video footage of a person’s physical movements into animated characters.
The acquisition points to Apple’s growing interest in 3D animation, as it seeks to develop the iPhone’s Animoji features and pushes further into augmented reality.
“Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans,” Apple said, a statement it uses to confirm acquisitions.
In recent years, Apple has made several small acquisitions of AR companies to build or bolster its ARKit platform, including Metaio, Flyby Media, Emotient and Faceshift, as well as several start-ups that could provide components for a future AR headset, such as Akonia Holographics, Vrvana and SensoMotoric Instruments.
The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2019
