Are gesture controls coming to the AppleTV?

A popular pastime for techies is looking deep into all information given by Apple to try and figure out what the company is working on. While this typically means examining acquisitions and patents, there are other ways to disseminate this information.

A recent article from Apple Inside found a job listing on Apple's official job website for a position called "Algorithms Development Engineer." Looking through the descriptions shows that the role is part of the "Camera Software" team that provides camera and capture foundation across "all of Apple's innovative products." The list that follows includes products you would expect to already have cameras like the iPhone, iPad, Macs and the operating systems.

However, it also includes the AppleTV.

To date, the AppleTV has had no camera, so this would point toward a change coming. The article mentions that this could be nothing more than boilerplate text that is used in all job postings but lays out some evidence that it could mean something more.

The biggest piece of information is the 2013 acquisition of PrimeSense. The Israeli company specializes in 3D sensor technology and was behind the creation of the Microsoft's first-generation Kinect motion controls for the Xbox 360. It has also been involved in creating full-color 3D scanners.

Does this mean gesture controls could be coming to the AppleTV? Possibly. The rumors of an updated version of the desktop device have been circulating for sometime and this just adds fuel to the fire.

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