Apple’s Latest AR Hire Used To Work At NASA

Apple and its CEO’s love for augmented reality is pretty well-known and well-documented, which is why there has been speculation that the iPhone 8 could somehow see the company introduce some AR features to it, and it seems that Apple’s latest hire isn’t doing them any favors in quieting the speculation.

In a report from Mark Gurman over at Bloomberg, it has been revealed that Apple’s latest hire comes in the form of Jeff Norris, a specialist who used to work at NASA where he founded the Mission Operations Innovation Office of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Norris also led the efforts in creating new ways of controlling spacecraft and robots while in space through both virtual and augmented reality technology, so safe to say that he has some expertise in that area.

It is unclear as to what Apple has planned for the technology, but we have heard rumors that the company could be working on some kind of AR-based smart glasses. A recently leaked document has hinted that could be the case but we can’t say that with 100% certainty. It is possible that it is true, but since testing and working on prototypes and trying out new ideas is pretty common practice for many companies, it shouldn’t be surprising.

What the main question should be is whether what Apple is working on will eventually end up being a commercialized product. In any case this is just something we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves hopefully in the not-so-distant future.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, General
Tags: Augmented Reality (AR), NASA