Intel points out that Americans spend some 75 billion hours a year driving and potential annual productivity gains from connected vehicle technology has been $507 billion.
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“One of the key technologies necessary to support this capability is computer vision”, says Intel IoT SVP Doug Davis.
The Itseez acquisition is part of Intel’s strategy to transform the company from a microchip manufacturer into a company well-versed in the Internet of Things platform, as well as the analysis of data coming from smart devices.
Announced late yesterday Intel’s acquisition of Itseez for an undisclosed sum comes as the company seeks to refocus on IoT and other embedded realms, an area of the market in which it has always been a minority player, and move away from less profitable areas such as mobile.
Intel has announced a further push into Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive realms with the acquisition of computer vision specialist Itseez.
Itseez, a closely held company founded in 2005, said it has developed software and services for driver-assistance systems to help warn of possible collisions, improve driver awareness and simplify driving.
While initially focuses on use in cars, Itseez’s technology has the potential to enable remote diagnostics and other applications.
“This acquisition furthers Intel’s efforts to win in IoT market segments like automotive and video, where the ability to electronically perceive and understand images paves the way for innovation and opportunity”, said Davis. Computer vision can be applied to all sorts of IoT-style applications including medical imaging, security systems, industrial process monitoring and much more. Together, the two companies will step up its contribution to both the standards, defining a technology bridge that helps the industry move more quickly to OpenVX-based products.
A year ago it also bought Lantiq, which makes chips for smart objects.
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“This is the ‘autonomous era, ‘ and machine learning and computer vision will become critical for all kinds of machines – cars among them”, Davis wrote. In April, the company announced a massive layoff of 12,000 employees – 11% of the company’s total workforce – as it refocuses to high-growth areas like the cloud and connected devices. Intel hopes to offset that decline, in part, with a new class of technology called the Internet of Things, which includes wearable computers, connected appliances and high-tech cars.
