NEW YORK: Intel has indicated it sees its future in the Internet of Things (IoT), diversifying from what it has done best ― developing computer processors.
Expectations are that Intel, which dominates the computer processor market, is easing the pace of technological advancement in its core processor business to catch up with competitors in other sectors.
During the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2015 in San Francisco last week, the world’s largest computer processor maker spent most of the time introducing new technologies related to the IoT and wearable devices.
It did not talk much about progress in its processor business.
“The tradition of IDF that we used to introduce our roadmap in processor development has continued for a long time,” Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said in a keynote speech, Wednesday. “But now we want to step forward. Computers can be everywhere. They have become smarter and more connected, expanding our life experience with their sensory functions.”
In its central processing unit (CPU) development roadmap, Intel has said it plans to roll out the new 14-nano processor codenamed Kabylake in the latter half of next year. It also has said the next-generation 10-nano processor, Cannonlake, will be launched in the latter half of 2017, at the earliest, six months later than expected. But further information on the new processors was not covered as one of key issues at the IDF 2015.
Following the theory of Intel founder Gordon Moore, the company has developed processors with double transistor integrity every two years. But such efforts have been hampered by a slowdown in global demand for personal computers as well as technological complexity to meet a sufficient yield rate in producing 14 and 10-nano-class products.
Intel also failed to turn to the mobile sector at the right time, conceding leadership to Qualcomm. It still faces tough challenges, not only with Qualcomm but also with other competitors such as Samsung Electronics and Huawei in the mobile application processor market.
An Intel Korea spokeswoman said, “At IDF, Intel has concentrated on talking about what it will do in the future, not what it has done at the moment. The IoT has been one of Intel’s key agendas for the future.”
Intel also introduced an update to its RealSense camera technology that allows IoT devices to scan differences in depths to better recognize objects and space. Intel said it will provide a development kit for the Android operating system that supports Google’s three-dimensional virtual reality project, Tango.
Intel also showcased a subminiature module called Curie for wearable devices. The size of a fingertip, the module has high energy efficiency and can be applied to medical, sports and industrial devices that always need to be on.
The company also unveiled details of storage memory technology 3D XPoint that it has developed with Micron. The companies say the memory chip is 1,000 times faster than NAND Flash memories.
Intel is expected to generate extra profit with the memory product for solid-state drives by reusing the process technology developed for computer processors.
