Intel Corp. announced Wednesday availability of the Intel Joule platform, a high-end compute platform capable of delivering human-like senses to a new generation of smart devices Created for the Internet of Things (IoT), the Intel Joule platform enables embedded developers and entrepreneurs to build out an embedded system or take a prototype to commercial product faster, while also minimizing development costs.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced the Intel Joule platform at the 2016 Intel Developer Forum, where Intel and its partners presented over a dozen demonstrations and workshops featuring the new platform. During the keynote, Krzanich demonstrated industrial safety glasses with augmented reality, developed by French company PivotHead. Created for PivotHead’s customer Airbus, the glasses pair the tiny Intel Joule module with a miniature built-in camera to monitor tasks performed by a factory operator and provide immediate audio feedback for real-time quality control. The glasses also provide remote visual assistance, enabled by the Intel Joule module’s built-in Wi-Fi.
The Intel Joule platform starts with a compute module featuring high-end compute, 4K video and large memory in a tiny, low-power package. The platform incorporates a vast software and hardware ecosystem, enabling developers to choose from multiple operating systems and take advantage of off-the-shelf libraries and sensors.
It also includes support for Intel RealSense technology, making it ideal for products and industrial systems requiring advanced computer vision or high-end edge computing.
Developers on the Intel Joule platform can take advantage of a vast hardware and software ecosystem. Created for the Intel Joule platform, the open-source Reference Linux OS for IoT is designed keeping IoT in mind, and includes security features commonly required by IoT applications.
Targeted at developers who create products using Reference Linux OS for IoT can avoid force-fitting a desktop Linux OS into an IoT device, or having to create their own OS. Developers can also choose to develop on Ubuntu/Ubuntu Core (Snappy) or Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Core, and can take advantage of off-the-shelf libraries and peripherals to accelerate development.
The Intel Joule offers high-end computing and large memory in a tiny package and low power footprint, making it ideal for applications requiring abundant compute power but with limited space for compute hardware, like autonomous robots and drones. It supports Intel RealSense cameras and libraries enables developers to build devices that capture rich depth of field (DOF) information, which can be processed to create a high level of computer intelligence about the environment and objects within it, making a “thing” capable of autonomous behavior.
The platform offers laptop-class wireless communications with 802.11ac for extended range and bandwidth; comes with a development ecosystem consisting of Intel and its partners, which offers developers their choice of operating systems. Intel Joule platform is pre-certified for distribution and sale into more than 80 countries, enabling significant savings in the time and expense of pursuing certification.
As the Intel Joule platform is based on an Intel Atom SoC, transitioning a product design to high-volume production can be done with modest engineering expense, providing a mature platform for companies who require the option to scale down the road.
Intel will offer a developer kit for each of the two module models. Intel Joule 570x developer kits are available immediately through Intel’s worldwide distribution network and reseller partners including Mouser and Newegg. Intel Joule 570x and 550x platforms as well as the Intel Joule 550x developer kit will be available in the fourth quarter of this year.
Modules and developer kits will be initially certified and available for sale in more than 80 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan and most of Europe, with availability expected to extend to over 100 countries by the end of that quarter.
