Intel has apparently ended efforts to drive its x86 architecture into microcontroller-class chips and end nodes on the Internet of Things. Analysts generally applauded the move, although they noted it reflects in part on a market for wearables that has not emerged as fast as predicted.

Multiple reports said Intel has ended sales of Currie and other IoT boards using its Quark processors. However, the company did not directly respond to questions about Quark, a stripped down x86 chip CEO Brian Krzanich announced in his first keynote at the company’s annual developer conference.

As recently as last August, Intel presented a paper describing its D2000, a 32-bit x86 processor that consumed as little as 35 milliwatts in active mode. At the time the engineer describing the device at Hot Chips said Intel had plans “to scale [Quark] from MCUs to right below the Atom X1000 for Linux with lots of implementation options in cores and SoCs.”

At one time, Intel fielded as many as three Quark chips — the SE, D2000 and D1000. All were spins of the original synthesized Pentium-class core Krzanich announced in 2013 as a 32nm part, one-fifth the size and one-tenth the power of Intel’s Atom core.

Intel rolled out several IoT boards using Quark chips, including several compatible with Arduino starting in October 2013.

“IoT remains an important growth business for Intel and we are committed to IoT market segments that access, analyze and share data. These include retail, industrial, automotive and video, which will drive billions of connected devices,” the spokesman said, suggesting the company will focus on Atom-based gateways as its new low end.

“Intel tried to take the x86 everywhere but the MCU business is not amenable to Intel’s business model of high margins and volumes and they had no second sources for the modules,”

Krewell and others said Quark may continue as a block in future SoCs, but it is not likely to appear as a standalone chip. Lack of influence over the software stack in IoT end nodes shouldn’t have a big impact for Intel, said Linley Gwennap, principal of market watcher The Linley Group.

Raspberry Pi rivals Galileo, Joule, Edison axed by Intel, plus Recon Jet smart glasses
http://www.zdnet.com/article/raspberry-pi-rivals-galileo-joule-edison-axed-by-intel-plus-recon-jet-smart-glasses/

Intel has killed off several Internet of Things products it once hoped would keep it in the race for connected devices.

Chip giant Intel’s spring cleaning efforts have swept out three of its compute modules for the Internet of Things and several Recon Jet smart glasses products.

Affected compute modules include Raspberry Pi challenger developer board, Galileo (PDF), as well as the Joule (PDF) and Edison (PDF) compute modules.

Intel launched the Galileo board in 2013 under a partnership with Arduino, targeting the growing community of developers building systems with ARM-based devices like Raspberry Pi.

Edison launched a year later with the aim of seeing the Intel-based compute modules powering wearables and home-based IoT devices, such as smart speakers.

Only last year it introduced the new high-powered Joule, for more advanced applications like robotics. The higher-end 570x model featured an Atom processor, 4GB RAM, 16GB storage, 4K video, built-in Wi-Fi and integration with Intel’s face-tracking and natural-language processing technology.

Together, the lineup of IoT compute modules were designed to help Intel avoid missing the next wave of innovation after it failed to keep pace with smartphone chip rivals and missed the mobile boom.

Having nominated the Internet of Things as key to its future strategies, Intel has added a super-cheap development board to its Quark lineup.

At US$15, the Quark D2000 microcontroller development kit is Chipzilla’s latest attempt to plant a flag in the cheap-as-chips breadboarding market.

It features a 32 MHz low-power core, 32 KB of integrated flash, a six-axis combination compass and accelerometer, temperature sensor, USB port, and a shield interface compatible with the Arduino-Uno.

For software development, there’s the Eclipse-based Intel System Studio for microcontrollers, including the GNU compiler collection (GCC), Intel Integrated Performance Primitives for microcontrollers, Intel QMSI (a support package for the microcontroller’s software interface), and a bunch of sample applications.

Intel’s clearly hoping the board will be an ARM-killer in maker/IoT developmen

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/products/quark/overview.html

Five Intel interns from Oregon State University have devised an Atom-powered bike helmet that calls home if the rider crashes.

Sounds a fun project. This oh-so-clever helmet contains:

Intel Edison wearable device Atom computer
Bluetooth radio
Magnetometer
Gyroscope
Two accelerometers to detect a sudden impact
Communications hardware to call pre-set emergency contact number
Above-the-ear speakers
Microphone
LED headlight

Power comes from a 3.7V, 2600mAh lithium-ion battery. There is an accompanying Android smartphone app that records the bike rider’s distance travelled, speed and the ride track, controls the LED light and communicates with the helmet if there is a bang.

Intel® Gateway Solutions for the Internet of Things Development Kit 50 – Software-compatible with the Arduino software development environment simplifying usability and integration

Intel threw its research might behind the idea of autonomous cars, or automobiles that are safer and more efficient because they can take over the task of driving from humans.

Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, will provide an “application ready platform” with its own processors and operating system for self-driving cars. The initiative is part of Intel’s larger campaign to provide the intelligence and connectivity for the internet of things, or smarter everyday devices. The effort will include Intel’s own research as well as investments in other companies from a $100 million car technology fund.

The cars will have high-powered processors, the Tizen operating system, and connectivity for delivering Internet connections to and from the car. Davis said autonomous cars will have features similar to those that Google has shown off with its self-driving cars. Those include the ability to avoid accidents, alert the driver when someone falls asleep at the wheel or veers out of a lane, and display real-time information on traffic or schedules.

Intel calls its platform In-Vehicle Solutions, including both hardware and software. Intel will provide chips, hardware modules, a full software stack with operating system and middleware, and development kits. The company hopes it can cut in-car system development by a year and reduce costs up to 50 percent. Intel will use software from its own Wind River subsidiary as well as from Green Hills Software, Mobica, Symphony Teleca, QNX, and XSe.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) needs its own security model to protect user data and enable innovation, it was argued at The INQUIRER’s Internet of Things roundtable event in London on Wednesday.

The INQUIRER and Intel welcomed a number of professionals from organisations including Bosch, the London School of Economics and the West Middlesex Hospital to the roundtable at London’s Groucho Club on Wednesday, where the security concerns surrounding the Internet of Things quickly became a hot area for discussion

Intel said that the Internet of Things, which is expected to see 26 billion connected devices by 2020, needs its own security model in order to fully protect user data, and to allow that data to be shared in a secure, personalised way.

“You’re going to have to secure the device or the sensor, you need to secure the data, and you’re going to have to secure that across an open network – it really is a massive, massive change.”

“The access to personal data is probably one of the biggest changes we’ve got going forward – and it can destroy your company. It’s very important [that] we understand what that security model is going to look like, because we can’t afford to run private networks,”

“Intel doesn’t believe it’s about locking it down so it’s not accessible – it’s about deciding, and who gets to decide is really interesting,”