Apple Grows With Another Acquisition

Apple has just bought Spektral, which is a Danish machine learning startup that specializes in real-time green screen technology. This buyout took place last year and it cost Apple $30 Million. Apple bought this product they have a prospects to improve their AR capabilities.

It’s more than likely they are going to use this technology to improve the features of Memoji or FaceTime. Some, such as Bloomberg, believes Sprektral will be used to make an augmented reality headset that is set to be released in 2020.

Initially called CloudCutout, Spektral encompasses machine learning and computer vision techniques to remove people from video backgrounds in real time on smartphones. They fuse deep neural networks and spectral graph theory, along with the computing power of modern GPUs. Moreover, the engine is capable of processing images and video from the camera in real-time directly on the device.

Apple has bought start companies in the past. They have acquired a German eye-tracking tech company called SensoMotoric Instruments, in 2017. Last month, they bought Akonia Holographics, which is a company that specializes in augmented reality lens. Apple is confidential when it comes to divulging information about their plans with the companies they buy out. However, there is some evidence that shows they are focusing on AR technology, as of now.