Intel is the boss. If you want a processor and you want some brand flash and you want it to be fast, you go to Intel. Well, Intel has never been one to sit on its laurels, so the brand is making huge strides into the IoT ecosphere and shaking the ground. Like a boss.
One of its key areas of focus is in China, like everyone else, because it’s smart. On April 8, the brand began its Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Shenzhen, China, where it is celebrating 30 years of innovation partnerships in that country. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in his keynote announced a number of additional investments and collaborations in the M2M space that will reap dividends in the global IoT for years to come.
Krzanich said it is critical for the company and its developer partners to stay ahead of the rapidly rising technology curve in order to be successful in industries from mobile devices to wearables and the IoT.
The first big launch was the Intel Firmware Engine, which is a free graphical tool for building system firmware for tablets, IoT and embedded devices. Firmware is the basic software needed to initialize platform hardware and launch operating systems. The advantage is that building boot architecture is time consuming and not very creative, and now Intel has made it possible to get products to market that will work across a variety of OS faster and easier for its customers.
In partnership with China-based Rockchip Electronics, Intel also announced an expansion to expand the functions of its upcoming Atom x3 processor for use with M2M devices. Krzanich said the Intel Atom x3 processor had been initially designed for entry-level tablets, phablets and smartphones but its scope now will be expanded with the addition of 3G and LTE processors for the IoT space. The processor will have an extended temperature range for extreme weather conditions, support for Linux and Android, and seven years of extended product lifecycle support. Developer kits will be available in the second half of this year.
Other announcements included the unveiling of Intel’s Mass Makerspace Accelerator program that aims to find and fund China's next generation of global entrepreneurs, from makers and students to developers and startups, via an investment of almost $20 million.
Other highlights of the IDF were the use case studies that Intel humblebragged about throughout, including how customers Vantron and BII Group worked together to incorporate Intel-based IoT gateways into the Beijing Friendship Hotel to gather sensor data and create a smart building that consumes less energy and that the company is working with TransWiseway, a Beijing traffic information service provider for vehicle monitoring and management solutions, to create an end-to-end commercial vehicle telematics platform based on Intel® Quark technology.
Intel is also planning an IoT Lab in Beijing, to be established in partnership with the Strategic Alliance of Smart Energy Industrial Technology Innovation (SASE) and BII Group. The lab will use Intel tech to develop cloud-based M2M energy efficiency solutions.
It’s been an exciting few days for Intel, but the real news will be hitting in the next few months and years as these announcements bear fruit. And the rest of the world bears witness.
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