Intel is looking to get a lot more into drones, and has announced that it will be bringing its RealSense technology to the Yuneec Typhoon H.
The Typhoon H uses Intel's RealSense to avoid collisions in real time. For example, while it's one thing to steer through trees, it's another thing to have to avoid a moving object, as the drone was able to do in Intel's demonstration. RealSense combines laser infrared and ultrasonic sensor technologies to detect and avoid even moving obstacles. Smart functions integrated into the drone include a Point of Interest setting, which means the drone flies around the pilot or any object with the camera frame capturing the center point, and the Curve Cable Cam, which when enabled has the drone fly along a pre-set flight path so the pilot can focus on images. Yuneec also has built-in safety features such as geo-fencing, Dynamic Return home, Low Battery Return Home and No Fly Zones.
The Typhoon H has a hex configuration with six folding arms, quick-fix props and retractable undercarriage.
The drone offers a 4K camera, as well as the ability to capture 12-megapixel still images. According to Intel, the drone will launch in the first half of 2016, and will cost less than $2,000. While this seems like a lot of money, it's not a bad price considering the fact that DJI's equivalents cost a lot more than that.
It makes sense that Intel would be looking to drones, especially considering that drone technology has been a big focus at competitor Qualcomm in the past few months, and at CES this year. Qualcomm officially took the wraps of its Snapdragon Flight technology at CES this year, showing off a chip that was able to also process information in real time, and supports a number of cameras and sensors.
It also makes sense that Intel would partner with Yuneec for this system, considering the fact that Intel has been a big investor of Yuneec over the past few years, announcing an investment of $60 million in August.
