Apple acquired Vrvana

Apple has purchased Canadian virtual reality headset maker Vrvana for $30 million.

Vrvana is best known as the creator of the still-in-development Totem headset. In addition to virtual reality, the Vrvana Totem is said to be able to overlay full, colorized digital images over the real-world. That would be a step above rivals like the Microsoft HoloLens, which only project transparent “ghost” images within a limited field-of-view.

VRvana’s Totem is currently tethered, but Apple can solve this issue over the next few years. Totem’s technology could be built into a future Apple device, as multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on some kind of augmented reality headset or smart glasses product.

Totem’s ability to display the highest FOV at the highest resolution, faster than the human eyes can perceive, allows your application to completely immerse your customer in an unprecedented way.

It’s hand tracking and inside-out positional tracking empowers your workforce to manipulate virtual objects with their hands wherever they please.

Apple is building that division both on its own as well as through partnerships with leading IT providers like Cisco, IBM, and SAP. Apple’s AR division is said to be in the hundreds of employees, led by former Dolby executive Mike Rockwell. That team is reportedly focused on everything from Apple’s headset efforts, to the ARKit augmented reality tech in Apple iOS 11.

Also Apple is said to be building an AR headset that features a dedicated display, a built-in processor, and a new “rOS” operating system. The company is aiming to finish work on its augmented reality headset by 2019, and a finished product could be ready to ship as soon as 2020, should the project progress on schedule.