'Star Wars' Tech To Be Used in Apple's Upcoming VR Gaming Device?

Apple Inc. is acquiring technology used in the production of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens."

In a report by USA Today, it seems that the company just bought Faceshift, whose motion capture technology allowed for animated avatars to double the facial movements of the real-live actors.

Rumors of the acquisition have been in and out of the rumor mill since the beginning of the year, but it wasn't until Tuesday when Tech Crunch, citing anonymous sources, confirmed the report.

Analysts believe that by 2016, VR tech is going to be all the rage -- after all, Samsung already released their $99 VR goggles to power VR content that ranges from games to entertainment, using a Samsung smartphone.

Next year, Sony will also release Project Morpheus for Play Station, while Microsoft is expected to release its HoloLens developer kit.

Digi-Capital thinks that AR and VR tech will be a $150-billion business by 2020 -- after all, entertainment companies and media giants are sure to exploit new tech to lure more customers. However, there is no telling how Apple will be using the product itself, especially considering that Faceshift's data looks perfect for videogame companies, and Apple is not exactly one on the list. Tech Crunch pointed out that in gaming tech, gamers can adopt their avatars, and these avatars' faces can change based on the player's actual facial expressions for a more immediate and realistic gaming experience.

Apple is not a film company either, and Faceshift's tech can be used -- like in "Star Wars" -- to improve animated characters to resemble more of the actors' facial movements.

Of course, there is no telling what Apple has in mind -- they are keen on keeping mum about their current projects, and until now, they haven't even confirmed their interest in making automobiles, although word has been around that they've been developing cars.

Faceshift is not the first company that Apple acquired, which have patents on motion capture, facial recognition, and augmented reality either: it has acquired other European companies as well, including PrimeSense, Polar Rose, and Metaio.

By way of explanation for these acquisitions, however, a spokesperson from the Cupertino-based company merely said, "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

But with all that tech, how much would you be willing to bet that sooner or later, Apple will dip their toes into gaming or film production as well?