Apple does not have any augmented reality or virtual reality device out on the market right now, however this does not mean that the company is not interested in the growing industry. Recent reports claim that the Cupertino-based tech giant is on a hiring drive for experts in the field of virtual reality.

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According to the Financial Times, Apple hired one of the leading experts in the field of virtual reality in the hopes jumpstarting its own project in the now growing market. Apple reportedly hired Doug Bowman, a computer science professor at Virginia Tech.

According to IGN, Bowman is a principal investigation of the 3D Interaction Group. It has worked on several projects like "VR for Sport Anxiety," "Learning with Locations in VR," and "Immersive virtual Human Exploration of Space."

Bowman is also the head of Virginia Tech's Center for Human-Computer Interaction. Bowman is the latest addition to the growing list of high profile engineers that Apple had hired since 2014.

Apple hired Nick Thompson who was a principal HoloLens engineer with expertise on audio hardware. Apple also hired another Microsoft veteran Bennett Wilbum who worked on the company's machine learning technology. Finally, Apple hired Graham Myhre from Lytro and specialized in designing camera sensors and lenses.

CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood told Financial Times, "I'd wager that there is a substantial team within Apple figuring out how the company will play a role in this technology. It certainly can't let rivals such as Facebook, Google and Samsung run away with the market, particularly given the groundswell of momentum building around smartphone-based virtual reality."

Considering Bowman's expertise on the field, some analysts are positive that he should be able to help in the development of the Apple car. 3D user interface is critical in the development of autonomous car, and seeing Bowman's expertise in this matter, he is expected to play a significant role in the development of the Apple car.

Now that Apple has joined the fray, analysts believe that competition between tech companies involved in the virtual reality market will only get stiffer as the days went on. Market analysts predict that the virtual reality market will grow into a $5.1 billion business this year.