From a simple pedometer to home automation systems to industrial controllers, the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the vast and rapidly growing number of smart objects and devices that communicate with each other and generate massive amounts of data. But providing ubiquitous connectivity for all the diverse types of IoT devices will be no small feat. To support the effort, Intel recently unveiled several products, including smaller and more energy efficient processors, gateways to connect legacy devices to the cloud, and the software glue to make the transition secure and turnkey.
Ton Steenman, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Intelligent Systems Group, discusses the company’s Internet of Things roadmap
“The Internet of things is leading us into a new era of computing,” said Ton Steenman, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Intelligent Systems Group. “And the IoT becomes real when you connect devices through a flexible network to the cloud and build end-to-end solutions.”
The stakes are high. According to Cisco, there are more than 10 billion connected devices on the Internet. And the growth is on track to top a trillion devices before the end of the decade, according to the recent Trillion Sensor Summit.
And helping to accelerate the development and deployment of that trend is Intel’s newly announced Quark system-on-chip (SoC)–a 32-bit processor running the Pentium instruction set architecture (ISA) that is just one-fifth the size and uses one-tenth the power of an Atom processor. Quark’s first model–X1000–was described as suitable for industrial, energy and transportation applications that require a wider temperature range than typical consumer devices. The Quark X1000 also manages error-correcting code (ECC) for secure industrial control and automation applications that are required to be up-and-running 24/7.
For IoT applications requiring more powerful processors, Intel upgraded its Atom processor family with the E3800 model, which, like Quark, adds ECC and industrial temperature ranges, as well as improved graphics and media performance. The Atom E3800 is targeted at IoT applications with local smarts that filter data, such as digital signage, interactive kiosks, intelligent vending machines, automatic teller machines, point-of-sale terminals, portable medical devices and automotive infotainment systems.
Intel also promised to integrate its the Quark and Atom processors into an IoT strategy that spans its entire processor line, all the way up to its high-end multi-core Xeon processors.
Gateways on IoT Roadmap
Also on Intel’s IoT roadmap, the company announced a family of smart gateways designed in collaboration with its security software subsidiary McAfee and its real-time software subsidiary Wind River for connecting offline legacy devices. To begin appearing the first quarter of 2014, the new McAfee Embedded Control and the Wind River Intelligent Device Platforms aim to enable new cloud-based application services that aggregate, filter and analyze data from legacy devices. Applications will include tracking industrial assets, enabling remote manufacturing automation, smart energy grid management and real-time commercial fleet monitoring.
In the industrial, energy and transportation markets, Intel has revealed that it partnered with a power and gas distribution grid operator Westfalen Weser Energie and a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company Daikin Applied. Both are currently installing Intel gateways to integrate their legacy devices into the IoT by securely connecting them to the cloud where smart analytics can process their data streams.
For instance, Westfalen Weser Energie is using Intel’s smart gateways to acquire, analyze and respond in realtime to data collected from its legacy energy systems. And Daikin Applied is using Intel’s smart gateways to collect data from its legacy rooftop HVAC units and aggregate it in the cloud for monitoring, diagnostics and building control.