At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel and its partners have plenty to show off

By Jim Harrison

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich introduced the Euclid Developer Kit. This device integrates sense, compute, and connect capabilities in an all-in-one candy-bar-sized form-factor. Equipped with a RealSense camera, a processor, and wireless connectivity, the kit comes pre-installed with a developer-friendly utility application. The plug-and-play kit gives researchers, makers, and robotics developers the ability to quickly create applications with advanced vision capabilities.

The Euclid Developer Kit.

RealSense cameras actually have three cameras that act like one — a 1080p HD camera, an infrared camera, and an infrared laser projector. They “see” like the human eye to sense depth and track motion. The platform could redefine how we interact with our devices for a more natural, intuitive, and immersive experience. The platform also allows you to swap out backgrounds seamlessly, so you can video chat in a virtual world in which you're free to view and share content as easily as you share your ideas. There are short- and long-range camera versions.

The board level version of Euclid.

ARM fab announcement

ARM announced a new ecosystem collaboration with Intel to enable ARM Partners to easily adopt the Intel Custom Foundry 10-nm HPM process technology. The partnership will accelerate the design of certain ARM-based mobile applications, optimizing their most advanced multi-processor cores for high-performance and low-power mobile/consumer applications. This high-tech process should create new opportunities for fabless semiconductor companies to deliver the next generation of powerful SoCs.

New design starts on this process are expected in Q1 2017, with production-ready IP slated for Q4 2017. To read more about the agreement, read our story here.

Rugged single-board computers and DSP modules

At IDF16, Curtiss-Wright introduced two new small form-factor COTS Single-Board Computers (SBCs) based on Intel’s Mobile Xeon processor E3 v5 (formerly known as “Skylake-H”). The new rugged modules, the 3U OpenVPX VPX3-1220 and XMC-121 XMC processor mezzanine card, are designed to meet DO-254 Design Assurance Guidance for Airborne Electronic Hardware requirements at Design Assurance Level C. The cards fit manned and unmanned airborne safety-certifiable applications and feature a low-power version of the Xeon processor for quad-core x86 processing with integrated graphics at typically 50% of the power levels of previous solutions.

Curtiss-Wright is also showing off its new 3U VPX CHAMP-XD1 and 6U VPX CHAMP-XD2 DSP modules, which feature single and dual Intel Xeon D processors. The formidable Xeon-D processors have eight to 32 2-GHz cores and dual 10-GbE ports. These VPV boards are said to deliver supercomputing performance to drive unprecedented intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance processing capabilities in embedded systems deployed in airborne and ground platforms for manned and unmanned programs. If you are working on radar, electronic warfare, or advanced medical diagnostic systems, this will definitely be worth a look.

The very-high-performance CHAMP-XD processor cards.

Murata has a bunch of interesting things

Murata is featuring a 20-Gbit/s/ch dual-channel bi-direction small optical engine matched with the Thunderbolt3 interface. This optical module can be installed by SMD reflow assembly process. Optical coupling is done using a simple pluggable connector.
Murata also has a new technology to achieve 10 Gbit/s near field communication — a new wireless optical transceiver.

They also will be showing Wi-Fi/BT wireless modules and wireless modules for IoT applications. They will have a new sensor for Piezo vibe (Haptics motor using piezo element), and a capacitive air pressure sensor, plus a small heart rate sensor.

Pericom data communications chip

Pericom is introducing a multi-protocol 6–12-Gbit/s linear redriver/repeater for PCI Express 3.0, SATA3, 10 GbE, and SAS2/SAS3 serial communications. The PI3EQX12902B and PI3EQX12908A 6-Gbit/s to 12-Gbit/s Combo Linear redrivers/repeaters have two and eight differential channels, respectively. They offer flow through pinout, low power, and independently programmable channels for transmit gain, swing, and receive equalization. The channel can be adjusted up to 36 dBm, equating to FR4 PCB trace distances of up to 48 inches or standard SAS3 cable of up to 10 meters.