Associated Press
Apple has acquired German augmented-reality firm Metaio.
Apple confirmed the acquisition with its standard response when it buys a company. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” said an Apple spokesman.
Metaio has worked on a technology that allows people wearing Google GOOGL -1.42%Glass-like eyewear to make any real world surface into a virtual touch screen. It also created software to let developers create tablet apps that flash repair instructions across the screen when the tablet’s camera is pointed at machines such as car engines or a printer.
The acquisition comes a few months after Piper Jaffray senior research analyst Gene Munster said Apple has a small team exploring augmented reality technology. He argued that Apple could help develop AR products that appeal more to consumers than products like Google Glass.
Apple news site 9to5mac reported earlier this week that Apple is working on adding augmented reality features to its Maps application. The feature would allow a user to point an iPhone camera down a street and it would overlay information about restaurants, cafes and other local businesses in that vicinity. The acquisition was earlier reported by 9to5mac.
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