CES 2015: Intel builds smarter drones with RealSense

Besides its tiny button-size product called ‘ Curie ’ that will allow anyone or any company to create a smart wearable product, Intel also showed off its RealSense technology that makes drones ‘smarter’. In a demo at the Consumer technology Show, Intel showed its drones equipped with the technology that makes them automatically avoiding objects and people.

Using the RealSense technology, these drones can build 3D maps of their surroundings and then automatically adjust themselves to avoid hazards and objects.

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According to Gizmodo , one of the demos showed how drones outfitted with 3D cameras ‘saw and fled away from black-shirted humans’ who were chasing them around the stage.

Another demo showcased a trapped drone navigating through an obstacle course. It then understood that its only way out was through a blocked door and patiently waited for its master to set the door open.

Finally, Intel showcased its autonomous photo-drone dubbed Nixie that flew off its owner’s wrist, took picture of its master, and then returned to its origial position. If you remember, last year Intel had awarded $500,000 to a group of do-it-yourselfers who developed a wristband that converts to a camera-equipped drone to win a contest the chipmaker hopes will help guarantee it a leading position in the emerging market for wearable computing devices. Yes, it was the Nixie quadcopter.

Aimed at rock climbers, Nixie quadcopter is worn wrapped around the wrist and springs into the air to take pictures from hard-to-reach places. Like a boomerang, it returns to its owner and then syncs with the owner’s smartphone.

Falling behind Qualcomm in recent years after it was slow to embrace smartphones and tablets, Intel has been keen to make sure its processors are at the front of future technology trends.