Computer
Intel, the worlds largest semiconductor maker, employs about 1,000 researchers at 10 locations around the world, some associated with schools such as the University of California, Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
The projects aim to open up new chip markets and boost demand for computing power. Intel, whose processors run about 80 percent of the worlds personal computers, previewed the projects during its annual research day at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.
In a mockup of a car, researcher Vu Ngyuen demonstrated a computer built into the dashboard slot, where the stereo or navigation unit is normally located. The computer recognizes occupants and wirelessly connects with their phones, computers and other devices to make music or other content available to the cars entertainment system.
The computer can use sensors in the headlights to communicate with stoplights, transmitting traffic data. The system could warn the driver that there is an emergency vehicle coming, Ngyuen said. It also could allow cars to communicate with one another and automatically engage the brakes in an emergency.
“There are many devices in cars that do one thing very well, but they cant handle additional information,” Ngyuen said. “A PC in the car will allow you to do that.”
Embedded Chips
Intel Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini has predicted that the market for so-called embedded chips — those used in cars, industrial machinery and other devices such as ATMs — may eventually bring in $10 billion in sales.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, fell 27 cents to $15.87 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have increased 8.3 percent this year.
Robert Ennals, an Intel researcher based at Berkeley, has developed software that analyzes text in online articles. The program, which works with Mozilla Corp.s Firefox Web browser, identifies assertions and compares them against articles with contradictory information.
Ennals wants to develop the program to work on a mobile device. Then it could analyze speech and check the facts of whats being said.