Apple May Have Acquired Real-Time Motion Capture Firm Faceshift

Apple may have bought Swiss real-time motion capture firm Faceshift in recent weeks, reports MacRumors. The site points to a company registry filing that shows all three of their original corporate directors stepped down in mid-August, and were replaced by a mergers and acquisitions attorney from Baker & McKenzie—a firm Apple frequently uses.

So what is FaceShift ? Faceshift says that its software "analyzes the face motions of an actor, and describes them as a mixture of basic expressions, plus head orientation and gaze. This description is then used to animate virtual characters for use in movie or game production."

There are hints that it's Apple who acquired Faceshift:

Faceshift has clearly been acquired by another company in recent weeks, as noted in a Swiss company registry filing from August 19 showing the three original corporate directors having stepped down as of August 14 and being replaced by Baker & McKenzie mergers and acquisitions attorney Martin Frey. Frey does not appear to have any direct links with Apple, but Apple has frequently used Baker & McKenzie's services in a number of countries around the world, including management of some of Apple's Swiss trademarks.

MacRumors also contacted several people who would know about the acquisition. None would confirm it was Apple that bought the company but no one denied it either.

Check how Faceshift works, it is so amazing:

In recent months, Faceshift has essentially shutdown its Studio software division, and has gone silent on Twitter and Facebook. It seems clear that the company has been bought out by somebody, but there isn’t any concrete evidence yet that it was in fact Apple. MacRumors has reached out to several sources for comment, but could not get a confirmation.

That being said, Apple has shown extreme interest in the area of facial-tracking and 3D sensors. It has filed for several 3D and facial tracking patents, and has acquired multiple companies with expertise in the field including Swedish facial recognition firm Polar Rose and PrimeSense, who helped develop the original Xbox Kinect motion capture accessory.