At its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, Apple made clear it's serious about the augmented reality biz with the release of ARKit, a platform for creating AR experiences on the iPhone and iPhone. 

On Monday, MacRumors reported the iPhone maker has acquired SensoMotoric Instruments, a German maker of eye-tracking glasses as well as technology for virtual reality goggles. Apple confirmed the acquisition in an email to CNET. 

SensoMotoric develops technology for a variety of uses, including clinical research, linguistics, physical training and AR, which mixes digital and real-world images. The company's Eye Tracking glasses can record a person's natural eye movements, potentially useful for athletes working to improve their eye-hand coordination. Its technology for virtual reality handsets could help reduce motion sickness.