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Social networking might soon get completely revamped as Facebook’s Oculus expands into virtual reality through the recent Pebbles acquisition. The financial terms of the deal with the Israeli startup company have not yet been disclosed, although sources claim Facebook has aid around $60 million for the acquisition.
Facebook is all the more interested in expanding its virtual reality section as the latter can make social networking much more interesting and interactive. After purchasing Oculus Rift two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg announced that they will deepen researches in this area with the help of their newly acquired company, Pebbles.
Pebbles is a start-up company from Israel, which is mainly specialized in the study of hand movements within virtual reality. Both Facebook and Oculus believe the new acquisition will enable them to develop new technologies for their Rift VR headset.
Pebbles’ chief technology officer, Nadav Grossinger, told the press that great part of their technological work has been developed in order to improve interactions between computers and human users. Oculus, on the other hand, has confirmed the Israeli company’s recent declaration, stating that Pebbles’ work mainly focuses on the integration of optics, software and sensors to detect and accurately reproduce hand movements.
While already a famous subject on the Internet, Facebook has failed to confirm the news on the Internet. They are expected to release an official statement in the following days, providing more insights on rumors related to the $60 million deal.
Pebbles’ technology enables users to carry out various hand and figure movements with the help of their virtual reality headsets. Unlike Oculus’ recently launched head gear, Pebbles’ technology also displays the arms and the bodies of the users. In addition, the highly advanced virtual reality software can also match and reproduce clothes and accessories.
Pebble is located at approximately 14 miles from the north eastern region of Tel Aviv and currently holds 50 employees. The two companies did not say whether the former employees will continue to work for Pebbles or whether they will be replaced by Oculus’ workers.
Many developing companies were founded on the territory of Israel, some of them being world-renowned for the services they provide. It is also the case of PrimeSense Ltd, the main producer of Microsoft Corp.’s Kinect, which was later on purchased by Apple.
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