Intel has agreed to purchase Israeli gesture recognition and tracking firm Omek Interactive for $40 million, shoring up rumors of an acquisition dating back to March. Samsung and Qualcomm were both reportedly interested as well but it was Intel that ultimately won out according to sources within both companies as reported by GeekTime.
Omek is responsible for providing gesture-based recognition for a number of products including electronics, vehicles and video games. The company has two key solutions for gesture recognition; one for short range and the other for long range.
The long range solution, known as Beckon, uses full body tracking to determine a user’s movement. This data is then entered into a target program and is said to be best for gaming or as a wireless interface for a television, kind of like Microsoft’s Kinect.
Grasp is the most recent of the two products and deals with smaller, more detailed movements. It’s able to work at distances as close as 10cm and could open up a whole world of possibilities with regards to PCs, mobile devices and even the auto industry.
Intel was always the favorite, the publication notes, in part because their global investment organization led Omek’s series C round of funding to the tune of $7 million back in July of 2011. Omek was founded by husband and wife team Gershom and Janine Kutliroff in 2006. The company received two previous rounds of funding before Intel’s investment totaling $6.8 million.
