BMW to develop autonomous car technology with Intel, Mobileye

BMW is teaming up with Intel and Mobileye to develop new technology for the auto industry that could put self-driving cars on the road by around 2021.

The alliance highlights a shift in the dynamics of research and development in the car industry, which until recently saw automakers largely dictating terms for suppliers to manufacture their proprietary technologies at specified volumes and prices. 

Now carmakers are increasingly striking up partnerships with technology firms using open technology standards, seeking to harness their expertise in areas including machine learning and mapping as they race against Silicon Valley companies such as Google , Tesla and Apple to develop driverless vehicles. 

"Highly autonomous cars and everything they connect to will require powerful and reliable electronic brains to make them smart enough to navigate traffic and avoid accidents,” Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said on Friday at a joint news conference announcing the alliance.

The three companies said their new platform would be made available to multiple carmakers and they expected vehicles with highly and fully-automated driving would be brought into mass production by 2021. It is too early to say which other carmakers would join the alliance, BMW Chief Executive Harald Krueger said at a news conference on the outskirts of Munich on Friday.

Sophisticated cruise control systems already enable "hands off" driving as cameras and computers allow cars to automatically brake, steer and accelerate in traffic at low speeds. But drivers are required to stay in control. 

Now BMW, Intel and Mobileye will develop cars with even higher levels of automation described as "eyes off," "mind off," and "driver off". This requires much more computing power and software know-how, forcing traditional carmakers to collaborate more closely with technology specialists.

Both industries see huge revenue opportunities in the market for autonomous vehicles, although it is unclear how many drivers will be prepared to relinquish control and how quickly laws will be put in place to allow fully autonomous vehicles on the roads.

But creating common technology standards would help all manufacturers update their vehicles faster, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said. "That will be critical for advancing the safety aspects of this." 

A common approach to standards will also make it easier for regulators to understand and approve the roadworthiness of a vehicle while still leaving enough scope for individual car manufacturers to customize their cars, Mobileye Chairman Amnon Shashua said.

Beyond technological hurdles there are legal questions over who is responsible when a crash occurs. On Thursday, the driver of a Tesla Model S car, operating in Autopilot mode, was killed in a collision with a truck in the United States, prompting an investigation by federal highway safety regulators. 

When asked about the crash, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said: "The accident is very sad .... We believe today the technologies are not ready for series production," he added, explaining the alliance had not forecast that until 2021.

"For the BMW group, safety comes first," he said. 

As part of the new alliance, Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker which has been looking to expand into the automotive electronics market, will supply the microprocessors - or central processing units - to control an array of sensors.

Auto camera and software maker Mobileye will supply its Road Experience Management (REM) technology and make its latest EyeQ5 chip available to be deployed on Intel computing platforms.

The three companies said they would demonstrate their technology in a prototype in the near future.




Source : Reuters

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HP unviels new ultra-thin Chromebook 13 which comes with an Intel Core M processor

 


HP on Thursday unveiled its latest Chromebook at a special event in New York City. Machines of this nature are typically dull and cookie cutter in nature but not this time.

The HP Chromebook 13 features a brushed aluminum chassis that measures just 0.5 inches thick and starts at just 2.86 pounds. The 13.3-inch display is available in either a full HD variant or an impressive QHD+ model sporting a resolution of 3,200 x 1,800. Unfortunately, HP isn’t offering any versions with a touchscreen display.



Its impressive nature doesn’t end there as the HP Chromebook 13 is the first of its kind to ship with a sixth generation Intel Skylake Core M processor mated with up to 16GB of RAM alongside 32GB of local flash storage. HP says the system is good for up to 11.5 hours of battery life on a full charge.

HP’s latest is also equipped with two USB Type-C ports, a standard USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack and a microSD card reader. 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 come standard on all models.

Some would argue that a Chromebook with this much attention to detail, a high-end display, 16GB of RAM and a respectable Core M processor is overkill for a system that’s largely limited to web apps. That may be the case but at least it's an option.

Pricing starts at $499 although that gets you just 4GB of RAM, a much slower Pentium 4405Y chip and a standard full HD display. HP plans to ship systems beginning in May.



Source: TechSpot

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Microsoft, Intel, & others Tech Giants launches IoT standards group: Open Connectivity Foundation

Giants of the tech world are banding together to found a new group to support the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) industry.

The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is touted as an open IoT standards group to unify standards, expedite innovation, and “create IoT solutions and devices that work seamlessly together,” according to a press release. Founding members include Microsoft, Cisco, Electrolux, General Electric, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, ARRIS, and CableLabs, who will work together to create specifications and protocols to ensure devices from a myriad of manufacturers work in harmony.

The Internet of Things is a major driving force in creative labs around the world. At CES last month, Samsung unveiled an eclectic mix of products, from smart fridges to giant video walls and beyond, and at the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, a Samsung spin-off company is debuting smart shoes.

Elsewhere, Microsoft is making a big IoT play with Windows 10 and Azure, as the company looks to build an operating system that delivers access to universal apps and driver models that work across any device, from fridges and ATMs to industrial robotics. And earlier today, Volvo announced its intentions to create the first properly keyless cars — vehicles that can be unlocked, started, and managed through a smartphone app.

It’s clearer than ever that the Internet of Things is pushing hard to shake off its gimmicky reputation and become a genuine thing that’s embraced. But well-defined and open standards are key to its success — devices and software from different manufacturers and developers have to be compatible.
The OCF is the successor to the existing Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC), which was launched back in 2014. The OIC was in competition with another group called the Allseen alliance, which consists of members such as Microsoft, Electrolux, and Qualcomm who are now in the OCF — but we’re assured that the OCF is not a merger between these other two groups.




Source: Venture Beat

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Intel's new mobile quad-core chips will accelerates mobile performance

Intel’s Skylake launch has already commanded a lot of attention for providing new functionality, and finding its way into most modern systems. Still, there was a bit of a gap at the top end of the mobile processor range. That has now been filled, according to the newest price charts.

The most mainstream chips are the new i7 mobile processors. These include the i7-6770HQ, 6870HQ, and 6970HQ, with a base clock of 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8GHz, respectively. All three chips boast four cores, Hyper-Threading, and an 8M cache. Prices range from $378 to $623, but they’re mobile processors, so you won’t be buying them except when they’re pre-installed in a system.

These chips fill an important role, and will be making their way into mid-to-high-end gaming laptops soon. The current go-to is the i7-6820HK, an unlocked variant with a 2.7GHz Base Clock, Hyper-Threading, and an 8M cache.

A bit further down the performance spectrum, there’s a new Skylake i5 chip, the 6350HQ. It’s quad-core that lacks Hyper-Threading, a change from the dual-core with HT we saw in previous i5 generations. The new chip sports a 2.3GHz base clock and 6M of cache, sliding in right at the highest end of Intel’s mid-tier offerings.

For ultra low-power devices, there are a few new additions as well. There’s a Pentium chip, the N3710, a quad-core chip with up to 2.56GHz base clock, priced at $161. There are also three new Celeron mobile chips, the N3010, N3060, and N3160. The first two are dual-core chips, while the third boasts four cores. The N3010 and N3160 have a max base clock of 2.24GHz, while the N3060’s is a bit higher at 2.48GHz.

There are some new low-power desktop chips as well that were announced back in November, but are just making their debut now. While the new chips are 14nm, they aren’t Skylake, but are instead based off Intel’s Braswell platform, the follow-up to Bay Trail-D. These processors who up in low-cost laptops, computer sticks, and other inexpensive, small systems.

There’s one new Pentium, the quad-core J3710 with a 2.64GHz max base clock, which will retail for $161 – basically a slightly faster version of the existing N3700. There are also five new Celeron chips, two full power, and three reduced power versions. They range from $42 to $107, mostly dual-core, with the quad-core, 2.24GHz J3160 sitting at the top of the pile.

Despite the fact that the new chips are intended for desktop use, it’s unlikely that any of them will be available in a socketed variation, with the exception of the Pentium chip, and even that’s doubtful. Intel has been more reluctant than ever to allow builders to put hands on its cheapest chips, and the Celeron line generally isn’t available for that community anyway.


Along with the consumer CPUs, there’s also a trio of new Skylake-powered Xeon chips for mobile workstations. At the top end, there’s now an E3-1575M v5, a quad-core chip with Hyper-Threading, a 3GHz Base Clock, and an 8M cache. It carries a $1,207 tray price, but no one said performance comes cheap.

The other two new Xeon processors, the E3-1515M v5 and E31545-M v5, are a bit more modest. They cost $489 and $679 respectively, with the same features as the 1575M, but with slightly lower 2.8 and 2.9GHz base clocks.

Xeon processors aren’t meant for gaming or personal computing, and instead include special functionality geared towards CAD and computational work. The high prices Intel is asking for these chips is indicative of the market, where they’ll likely end up in powerful mobile workstations and other special applications.

Though manufacturers will want to start slamming these into laptops as soon as possible, they’re still likely a few months out from being able to do so.



Source: Digital Trends

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Intel is Looking to expand beyond chip : unveils a commercial drone and a robot-hoverboard

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich took the stage at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday to unveil the Yuneec (pronounced "unique") Typhoon H, a commercial drone that uses Intel's RealSense 3D, a depth-capturing camera technology. The drone features collapsible propellers, retractable landing gear, a 4K camera, and a controller features a display that allows the pilot to see what the drone is seeing in real time.

"This drone is made with the end-user in mind," he said. "You can use it right out of the box. It's ready to fly."

The unveiling comes a day after the Santa Clara, California-based chip giant said it would acquire Ascending Technologies, a German drone maker that builds a handful of drones for professional and research tasks like surveying, industrial inspections or aerial photography.

Working with Ascending Technologies, Intel has also developed a collision avoidance system that allows the drone to navigate around any obstacle, Krzanich said.
The ultra-portable drone is expected to hit the market in the first half of this year at a price below $2,000, he said.

Intel also unveiled a platform for a personal robot that doubles as a self-balancing scooter.
Krzanich, who rode a hoverboard onto the stage at the beginning of his keynote, also unveiled a "personal transporter," a device that resembles a typical self-balancing scooter that transforms into a personal robot at the touch of a button.

The Segway Robot is an expandable open-platform robot that can be programmed to perform a variety of functions in a smart home environment. It features voice recognition and streaming video via a RealSense camera that helps the robot to maneuver around obstacles.

The robot is being promoted as an open framework that inventors can innovate upon to develop new uses and applications. They can also develop tools and software that can operate with the Segway.
"We believe this is the beginning of a new ecosystem, one where robots can actually be open prlatforms and become useful partners," Krzanich said

The developer release is expected in the second half of 2016, Krzanich said.



Source: Cnet

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Intel Launches New Broadwell, Skylake processors

As reported by CPU-World , Intel is amending its processor lineup with numerous additions to the catalog, in both mobile and desktop flavors. These include 5th-generation Broadwell CPUs in addition to several new 6th-gen Skylake models. Of those announced, six are Core while the remaining two are Celeron CPUs. With the exception of a new quad-core i5 Skylake processor, all of those added are dual core, including five that feature Hyper-Threading.

Model	Core/Threads	Frequency	Cache	Price
Celeron 3855U	2/2	1.6GHz	2MB	$107
Celeron 3955U	2/2	2GHz	2MB	$107
Core i3-6098P	2/4	3.6GHz	3MB	$117
Core i5-6402P	4/4	2.8GHz	6MB	$182
Core i5-5200DU	2/4	2.2GHz	3MB	$281
Core i5-6198DU	2/4	2.3GHz	3MB	$281
Core i7-5500DU	2/4	2.4GHz	4MB	$393
Core i7-6498DU	2/4	2.5GHz	4MB	$393

The new CPUs in question bear peculiar model numbers, namely the i5-C402P and i5-5200DU. This could, according to CPU-World, indicate a differentiation in functionality offered by the processing units. The 3855U and 3955U in particular are focused on ultra-low voltage energy conservation.

Meanwhile, the “P” suffix found in the likes of the Core i3-6098P and Core i5-6402P probably indicates the absence of an integrated graphics processor as it has in previous generations. The Core i3-6098P features two Hyper-Threaded cores running at 3.6GHz and sports a $117 price tag, similar to that of the i3-6100. The i5-6402P, on the other hand, is a $182 quad-core CPU operating at 2.8GHz, notably a 100MHz upgrade from the Core i5-6400.
All of those bearing the “DU” prefix, i5-5200DU, i5-6198DU, i5-5500DU, and i76498DU, share the same core, operating frequency, and last-level cache as the Core i5-5200U, i5-6200U, i7-5500U, and i7-6500U, respectively. Neatly enough, the prices of the aforementioned microprocessors remain in parity as well.
CPU-World also notes that the Celeron 3855U and 3955U CPUs serve as follow-ups to the 3215U and 3765U released back in April. This new pair of Celerons, however, bolster more manageable 1.6GHz and 2GHz respective clock speeds. Neither of these models exhibit Hyper-Threading capabilities, although both $107 processors are packaged with Intel’s HD 510 integrated GPU.
All of these processors are now available on the official Intel price list.



Source: Digital Trends

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Microsoft beats Google, Intel, Tencent, and Qualcomm in image recognition competition

Microsoft Research has come in first place in several categories for the sixth annual ImageNet image recognition competition. Technology from Microsoft was able to outperform systems from Google, Intel, Qualcomm, and Tencent, as well as entries from startups and academic labs, according to the results.

The winning system from Microsoft researchers Kaiming He, Xiangyu Zhang, Shaoqing Ren, and Jian Sun is called “Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition.” It will be detailed in an upcoming paper, according to a Microsoft blog post.

The technology is notable partly because of its complexity. “We train neural networks with depth of over 150 layers,” the team wrote. “We propose a 'deep residual learning' framework that eases the optimization and convergence of extremely deep networks. Our 'deep residual nets' enjoy accuracy gains when the networks are substantially deeper than those used previously. Such accuracy gains are not witnessed for many common networks when going deeper.”

This research area has become quite popular among technology companies, which are seeking to improve their own internal systems as well as consumer-facing products. The broad category of deep learning, which is at the core of these high-performing networks, involves training artificial neural networks on large sets of data, such as photographs, and then showing them new data to receive inferences.

Microsoft has humorously demonstrated its capabilities with this type of technology with the “How Old Do I Look?” and “How's My Moustache Doing?” apps. And it has been commercializing image recognition technology through Microsoft Research's Project Oxford initiative.

The big competition at ImageNet requires entries to correctly locate and classify objects in 100,000 photographs from Flickr and search engines into 1,000 object categories (tarantula, iPod, mosque, toyshop, modem, and so on) with as few errors as possible.

Microsoft's winning entry had a classification error rate of 3.5 percent and a localization error rate of 9 percent.

In previous years Google, startup Clarifai, and NEC have come out in front when it comes to classification.

Also this year the Microsoft system from He, Zhang, Ren, and Sun came in first place for an ImageNet competition around object detection.

“We even didn't believe this single idea could be so significant,” Sun is quoted as saying in the Microsoft blog post.

Baidu does not show up in this year's rankings. The company made more submissions than were permitted and ultimately apologized and fired the team leader who directed juniors to make the unacceptable submissions.

For this competition IBM provided Nvidia GPUs (graphical processing units) in the SoftLayer public cloud for participating teams to use.



Source :Venture Beat

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Intel's 72-core processor jumps from supercomputers to desktops

Intel wants to change the game in desktop computing with a workstation that packs its upcoming, 72-core supercomputing chip.

Intel's workstation will be based on an upcoming Xeon Phi chip code-named Knights Landing, which is being touted as the company's most powerful chip to date.

A limited number of workstations will ship in the first half of next year from Intel, which will also control initial distribution. As usage expands, hopefully PC makers and other partners will sign on to sell Xeon Phi desktops, said Charles Wuischpard, general manager of the HPC Platform Group at Intel.

Workstations are business desktops typically larger than conventional desktops, with one example being Apple's Mac Pro. The computers are widely used for high-end graphics, film editing and engineering applications. Today's workstations are largely based on Intel's Core desktop or Xeon server chips.

Intel's supercomputing workstation will initially be made available to researchers who don't have access to Xeon Phi-based supercomputers for complex scientific calculations. Researchers will be able to write and test code on the computer before deployment on supercomputers.

The machine is more of an experiment than an effort to change the way desktops and workstations are designed, Wuischpard said.

Coprocessors like Nvidia's Quadro are already being used alongside Intel CPUs in workstations to boost application performance. But Intel's workstation will have only one Knights Landing chip, which will load the OS and increase application performance.

The Knights Landing chip can deliver over 3 teraflops of peak performance, which is roughly in the range of some high-performance graphics chips used in the world's fastest supercomputers.

Much like graphics chips, Knights Landing is designed for highly parallel computing and varies in design from conventional x86 chips. It mixes conventional x86 CPUs with specialized processing units that help the chip take on heavy workloads.

Knights Landing could also bring many innovations to desktops. It includes 16GB of on-package MCDRAM memory, in which modules are stacked and connected through a wire. The memory offers five times more bandwidth than the emerging DDR4 memory. Intel also claims the stacked memory is five times more power efficient and three times denser than GDDR5, which is used on graphics cards.

In addition to the OS, programming tools and other software programs will be preloaded on the workstation. The chip itself will be tightly integrated into the system, making it tough to add more memory and components.

This workstation could fulfill a long-time dream of Intel to bring a powerful chip to desktops. Intel had such plans with a chip code-named Larrabee, which was unceremoniously dropped in 2010 after design challenges. The Phi chip is a byproduct of Larrabee.

Source : PC World 

Via :Gizmodo 

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Intel has 1,000 people working on chips for the iPhone

Intel now has a thousand people or more working to outfit a 2016 iPhone with its lauded 7360 LTE modem chip, sources say. If all goes well, Intel may end up providing both the modem and the fabrication for a new Apple system on a chip.

Sources close to the matter say Intel is pulling out the stops to supply the modems for at least some of the iPhones Apple manufactures in 2016. This phone will likely be the iPhone 7. VentureBeat was the first to report on the two companies’ work together, and more pieces are falling into place as the project progresses and grows.

Apple may dual-source the LTE modems in its new iPhones from both Intel and Qualcomm. Today, Qualcomm’s 9X45 LTE chip is baked intoall iPhone modems.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said during a recent earnings call that Intel’s 7360 modem will start shipping by the end of the year, and that new products using the chips will begin showing up next year.

One source said Intel needs a small army of people on the Apple account because of the importance of the project to Intel’s future in the mobile market, because of the complexity of the project, and because Apple is a demanding client with an extremely popular phone.

Our sources don’t believe Apple has officially signed Intel as a supplier of the modem chip, but a deal will happen if Intel continues to hit its project milestones.

Intel failed to seize on the mobile chip market early on, and has been running far behind rival Qualcomm ever since. “This is a must-win for Intel,” one source told VentureBeat.

Another reason for the large number of people on the project is that it could be just the beginning of a much deeper Intel involvement in the iPhone.

A new SOC fabbed by Intel

Sources with knowledge of the situation say that Apple eventually would like to create a system-on-a-chip (SOC) that includes both the phone’s Ax processor and the LTE modem chip. A system-on-a-chip design could deliver significant returns in improved speed and better power management.

Apple would design the SOC, which would carry an Apple brand name, and would license the LTE modem intellectual property from Intel for the SOC, one source said.

This would be a sensible arrangement, in light of the fact that Intel hasn’t excelled at SOC design in the past, and because Apple does vertical integration very well. Apple’s skill in this was most recently seen in the integration of its M9 graphics chip with its powerful A9 chip for the iPhone 6s.

While the SOC would be created from top to bottom by Apple’s formidable chip designers, Intel would get the job of fabricating the SOC using its 14-nanometer process.

Samsung and TSMC, which currently share the fabrication of the iPhone’s A9 chip, also have 14-nanometer processes, but those foundries are said to compromise by making the interfaces with a 20-nanometer process.

Intel’s foundry, by contrast, uses a 14-nanometer process “from front to back,” as our source said. Intel’s process, our sources said, can create silicon chips with superior density and gate pitch.

One of our sources close to Intel said that Apple is also attracted by the fact that Intel is already developing a 10-nanometer process alongside its 14-nanometer process. The 10-nanometer process, which could yield even smaller and faster processors, isn’t ready for large-scale production today, but might be ready for high-volume fabrication in as little as two years.

German imports

Intel’s 7360 LTE chip was created at an Intel facility in Munich, Germany. The facility once housed the modem maker Infineon, which Intel acquired in 2011. Infineon supplied the 3G modems in the iPhone up until 2011, but lost the deal when it sold out to Intel.

One of our sources said Apple engineers have been making trips to Munich, Germany, to work with Intel engineers to optimize the 7360 chip for Apple’s phone. One of the trips was planned to coincide with the Oktoberfest event in Munich, which ran from September 19 through October 4.

Apple has also been hiring some key wireless engineers from the team that developed the Intel LTE chip in Munich.

One of them is Bernd Adler, who led the RF engineering group at Infineon until the sale of the company to Intel in 2011. He was Intel’s mobile chief technology officer before he went over to Apple in August.

Another engineer, Carsten Janus Pedersen, was senior specialist of system software at Intel in 2014 before he left for Apple, where he is now senior baseband engineer. Pederson worked at Infineon as a wireless software engineer until 2011 when the company was sold.

Jing’en Chen, who is now a wireless software engineer at Apple, worked at Infineon until 2011, when he became a staff engineer at Intel. Apple recruited him last year and he started work there in April of 2014, according to Chen’s LinkedIn profile. He’s based in Beijing.

One source said Apple hired these people to work on the collaboration with Intel from the Apple side. Another source said the hires are evidence of a desire on Apple’s part to pull in the expertise needed to bring the design of the modem chip in-house.

Actually, Apple has plenty of ex-Infineon wireless engineers working for it.

Christian Mucke was at Infineon for 10 years, and was VP and general manager there when Intel bought the company. In 2011, he moved from Intel over to Apple, where he’s now a senior wireless architect.

Matthias Sauer was head of system engineering, smartphone platforms, at Infineon until 2009 when he became head of system engineering. He went to work for Apple in 2011 as director of cellular systems architecture.

In all, I counted 17 Apple engineers who worked at Infineon, and note that a great many Apple engineers don’t list their current employer on their LinkedIn profile.

Adding CDMA

Another important piece of Intel’s LTE modem story fell into place at the end of September. Intel confirmed that it bought the CDMA modem assets of Via Telecom. Intel says it will use the technology to add CDMA network connectivity to its LTE modems.

Intel will need the CDMA technology in its modem in order to supply phone makers selling devices into the Chinese market. Carriers like China Telecom use a combination of LTE and CDMA technology in their networks.

While the Chinese market might be the main motivation for the Via Telecom buy, the technology could also be built into a future Verizon iPhone for the U.S. market. Verizon, too, uses a combination of 3G CDMA and 4G LTE in its network.

Possibilities, possibilities

Intel’s mobile chip business is now a two-headed monster. It wants to continue selling low-cost LTE chips in medium-priced phones for developing markets, and it wants to double down on gaining a beachhead in the iPhone with its 7360 modem.

If that beachhead turns into a starring role in the creation of a new Apple SOC, Intel will have taken a large step toward being a major player in the mobile space, and a formidable opponent to Qualcomm.

Source :Venture Beat 

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Intel Joins Verizon in Development of 5G Technologies

When it comes to “what's next” it appears that 5G is what's on the horizon for wireless technology and connectivity. Industry giants have been getting together to discuss what 5G should be and what sort of technology would be required to make it happen for a long time now, but things have certainly sped up in the last year or so. Verizon is obviously interested in 5G, having done quite well out of hitting the ground running with 4G early on, but even Big Red know that they can't do it alone, and their newest recruit to join their course is Intel.

Intel has joined the Verizon 5G Technology Forum and will apparently “contribute to the development of 5G requirements and standards and conduct testing to optimize end-to-end mobile broadband and Internet of Things (IoT) device architectures and network infrastructure”. Getting down to actual business and Intel will start working in Verizon's San Francisco and Waltham, MA Innovation Centers. It appears that Intel will bring some much-needed knowhow where hardware working with software is concerned. With 4G networks, the hardware was pretty much the driving force behind new speeds, but as 5G networks are being proposed as being more nuanced, more intelligent networks a partner like Intel will go a long way to delivering software knowledge. Intel themselves are working on their test areas in Oregon and California where they'll be working on MIMO technologies as well as 'ultra-low latency response, high frequency small cells, and mobile edge computing'.

5G is of course quite a way away from being away mainstream, but Verizon and Intel working together to move things forward a bit. Earlier this week, it was announced that Samsung and other industry leaders have proposed what they feel is a strong candidate for a first draft of 5G standards, but there's a lot of work to be done, and it's unlikely we'll see any sort of standard arrive before the end of 2016. Besides, there's still a whole lot of life left in 4G networks across the globe.

Source : Android Headlines 

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Intel, Chromat show high-tech sports bra with cooling vents and a 3D dress

Intel and experimental US clothing studio Chromat revealed a high-tech sports bra with cooling vents and a 3D printed dress that responds to the wearer's adrenaline levels. Chromat showcased the clothes at its Spring Summer 2016 Collection.

The Chromat Adrenaline Dress is powered by Intel's Curie, which is a low-powered device for wearables, and is made of3D printed panels designed and "an interlinked, expandable carbon fiber framework," according to the designer studio.

The Adrenaline Dress expands or contracts based on the wearers adrenaline or stress levels and sense the flight-or-fight mode.

When animals are in fight-or-flight mode, when they feel stressed ... their silhouette expands. That concept of adrenaline response is the inspiration behind the dress, Becca McCharen told ABCNewson the concept behind the dress.

Chromat also showcased its first sportswear prototype built with Intel technology: the Chromat Aeros Sports Bra.

The Aero Sports Bra "leverages shape memory alloy to open vents to cool down the body when it senses heat and sweat", and using the Curie module it can respond to perspiration, body temperature, etc. According to Chromat, this bra will help the wearer push their boundaries when training at a gym.

The Intel Curie module is a wearable with a32-bit SoC, motion sensor, Bluetooth radio, and battery charging. It has a 384kB Flash memory, 80kB SRAM and 6-axis combo sensor with accelerometer and gyroscope.

Source: The Indian Express  

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Amazon, Netflix, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla And Others Partner To Create Next-Gen Video Format

Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla and Netflix today announced that they have formed a new open source alliance — the Alliance for Open Media — with the goal of developing the next generation of royalty-free video formats, codecs and other related technologies.

It's not often we see these rival companies come together to build a new technology together, but the members argue that this kind of alliance is necessary to create a new interoperable video standard that will work across vendors and platforms. While it goes unmentioned in the announcement, it's also clear that none of the members involved in this alliance want to have to pay royalties to the likes of MPEG LA.

As Mozilla notes, part of the reason for forming this alliance is not just to share technology, but also to “run the kind of patent analysis necessary to build a next-generation royalty-free video codec.”

There is no dearth of royalty-free next-gen codec projects, of course. Mozilla has Daala, Cisco has Thor, and Google is working on VP9 and 10. It's no surprise then that the Alliance's first project is to create a new video codec specification that's based on the previous work of its members. This work is part of the larger effort of creating a format that's open and interoperable, as well as optimized for the web and scalable to any device and bandwidth. The format is also meant to support real-time video delivery and usable for commercial and non-commercial content. This last part is important, because this means the format will offer support for content encryption — something Amazon, Netflix and others have to support in order to be able to get the licensing rights for most of their content.

The group plans to publish its code under the Apache 2.0 license and it will operate under W3C patent rules, meaning the members will waive royalties from the codec implementations and their patents on the codec itself.

Source : TechCrunch 

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Intel's Core M processors are being tested in phones

Intel's fresh-faced sixth-generation processorsimprove on pretty much all the important fronts: more power efficiency, more graphical oomph and that's especially true for its important Core M series that beats inside laptops and tablets. According to Kirk Skagen, Intel's General Manager, it's now making its way into even smaller devices, namely "phablets". (He said it, not us.) While the line between tablets and phones couldn't be blurrier these days, if Intel's Core M family of chips make it into your next Android phone, it'd be powerful enough do to almost everything your laptop does.

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Samsung Semiconductor Business Closes Gap With Intel

As the need for semiconductors grows on a global scale, so does the competition between two of the giants in that industry – Intel and Samsung Electronics. Samsung's semiconductor business has grown so much the past few years that as of the end of the second quarter of 2015, the gap between number one Intel and Samsung is now at only 1.6-percent. Marketing firm HIS iSuppli claims that Samsung turned over US$10.366 billion in sales during the Q2 2015 and a 12-percent share of the global market – including memory and non-memory semiconductors. The world's largest chipmaker Intel, grabbed US$11.797 billion in sales and a 13.6-percent of the global share…this gap of 1.6-percent is the first time the gap is in the 1-percent range.

The second quarter 2015 was the first time that Samsung topped the $10 billion mark, but they have been gaining on Intel for a few years. In 2011, the gap was 6.9-percent, in 2012 it dropped to 6.0-percent, then 4.3 in 2013 and down to 3.4-percent in 2014. Samsung's market share grew by 0.8-percent during the second quarter, while Intel grew by only 0.3-percent. SK Hynix, another South Korean manufacturer of mobile chipsets accounted for 4.9-percent of the market with US$4.29 billion in sales and surpassed Qualcomm – the world's largest mobile chipset maker – taking over third place and pushing Qualcomm into fourth place.

The semiconductor field is growing as more things look to electronics for their control – the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile devices, appliances, automobiles, driverless cars and even our entire home. Intel waited too long to make the switch from PCs and Laptops to mobile devices and only now are starting to really penetrate that market. When it came to chips for mobile device chips, Qualcomm, Samsung and MediaTek are the processors that come to mind, with Huawei's Kirin chips starting to crop up more, but Intel is only starting to crack the mobile door. Breaking into a new field is not that easy and most manufacturers have their favorite chipmakers.

China and India are huge markets that every manufacturer would like to get control – but the big shooters, like Xiaomi are rumored to be making their own chips for their Redmi smartphones, although Lenovo may tap into Intelfor its smartphone chips as they have a relationship because of their tablets. As the year goes on it will be interesting to see if Intel can widen the gap between them and Samsung.

Source : Android Headlines 

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The coolest things Intel showed off this week

Intel has a lot of cool products in the works. The company showcased new smartwatches, advanced camera technology, robotics, and more this week at its annual Developer Forum in San Francisco. These are the technologies and products that excited us the most.

Fossil smartwatch and other wearables

Intel and Fossil teamed up last September in an effort to help wearable technology merge with the world of fashion. Today we finally got a look at the Android Wear-powered smartwatch the two companies have been working on. While we didn't get word on any specs or features, the smartwatch looks nearly identical to other Android Wear devices, mainly the Moto 360.

The watch sports what appears to be a stainless-steel body with a circular face. There's also the same black bezel from the Moto 360 at the bottom of the display. This is likely where the display drivers (to control things like auto brightness) are located.

Intel also showed off a prototype authentication wearable band that is capable of unlocking your PC when in proximity of it, ultimately replacing the need for a password.

Intel's Curie chip and smart BMX bike

Intel has developed a small and low-power chip that's designed for wearable devices. The module, known as Curie, includes a six-axis combo sensor with both an accelerometer and gyroscope. These are the same sensors that are found in many activity trackers and used to measure things like steps and distance. During a live demo, however, Intel showed that the Curie chip can do even more. When embedded in the seat and handlebars of a BMX bike, for example, the chip can record things like the amount of times you spin, the airtime and maximum height you reach and your landing impact.

Nabi Baby Seat Clip

When we first saw Intel's smart baby seat clip back in January at the International CES trade show, it was merely a prototype, but it will be making its way to market in the coming months. Intel and Nabi partnered to create a Bluetooth-enabled smart clip for baby car seats. The sensor will notify you if you walk too far away from the car without your baby. The app can also display the internal temperature of the car and whether or not it is in motion. The Nabi Baby Seat Clip will be available this holiday season for under $50 in the US.

Intel Smart Clip ensures you don't forget the baby

RealSense technology in smartphones

Intel and Google announced a partnership that will bring Intel's 3D depth-sensing RealSense cameras to smartphones as part of Google's Project Tango development kit. Intel's RealSense technology uses a variety of cameras to track three-dimensional motion, measure distance between two objects and more. Google currently offers a 7-inch tablet to developers that are interested in 3D motion and environmental tracking as part of its Project Tango dev kit.

Memory Mirror

Intel and Memomi partnered to create a new kind of mirror. Well, sort of. The Memory Mirror isn't a mirror, at least not in the traditional sense, but rather an oversized computer with a a full length monitor. The Memory Mirror lets you try on a clothing virtually. You can also change the color of clothes and compare different outfits and angles side by side. The Memory Mirror is already being used in three Nieman Marcus stores.

Giant robotic spiders

Spiders are terrifying enough on their own. Now imagine a swarm of oversized robotic spiders that can be controlled with a wave of the hand. With the help of a special wristband designed to detect motion, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was able to wake the robotic spiders up and make them move with different hand gestures. He even made them dance at one point. It's unclear what the purpose of these terrifying machines is. Could they one day aid in search and rescue, or are they designed simply to give us all nightmares?

Source : CNET 

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3D RealSense cameras introduced to Google's Project Tango smartphones

At the Intel Developer Forum 2015, CEO Brian Krzanich announced a very promising partnership between Google and Intel. The team-up will see Intel's RealSense 3D camera brought to Google's Project Tango smartphone, which Intel demonstrated at the forum with a blacked-out prototype. The prototype was packing Intel's Atom processor and a 6in touch screen.

The RealSense 3D camera technology enables you to create scans and models of the real world around you, as well as mapping areas that you'd then be able to build off of. You can map whole rooms which you can then fill with furniture, foliage and other features.

Architects, landscapers and interior designers will be able to make the most of the mapping technology, even being able to create entire buildings or homes that you can then walk through on a 3D augmented reality tour on the 6in screen.

You won't have to buy a cheap virtual reality headset for entertainment, as you'll be able to attach a RealSense-enabled phone directly onto toys to create an augmented reality experience. At IDF Intel demonstrated this by attaching the handset to a Nerf-style gun, which then allowed the user to fire virtual ammunition rather than real darts. Parents will be thrilled at the idea of not having to pick up foam ordnance around the house, as well as avoiding any possible damage caused by stray shots.

Intel made sure people didn't get their hopes up by clarifying that its Project Tango phone is only a prototype and that there's still lots of work that needs doing to bring RealSense to market.

We will let you know when Intel announces more, but we're really just waiting for the day Crossy Road gets turned into an augmented reality game with worrying consequences. 

Source: TechRadar

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