Intel detailed the several uses of its wearable Curie chip at its recently concluded Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.
Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO, said the tiny module is designed to provide a huge impact on various industries, which he hopes will revolutionize the way people experience things. Curie can be used as a central device that can power up both consumer and industrial wearables. It debuted first at the CES in January and was shipped recently to OEMs.
"If you have that kind of power in that kind of form factor, possibilities are endless," said Krzanich.
One of these possibilities is in digitizing sports which, according to Intel, should be able to bring sports into the digital age and make them leave their past life behind in the analog world. To show how this can be achieved, Intel gave the audience a BMX demonstration on stage.
The BMX used was embedded with the Curie module on the seat and handlebars. As the rider performed several tricks, the sensors worked by detecting each of his movements and giving a feedback on the gathered data, such as speed, the number of spins made, airtime and maximum height, landing impact and bike angle. Such data can be used by the riders to find out which areas need to work harder on when performing a certain trick.
"Curie acts as a central device in real time, classifying the trick, and lets you analyze data and provide characteristics around that too," said Krzanich. "Imagine all the sports that can be digitized."
The Curie chip is equipped with a button-cell disposable alkaline battery that runs an Intel Quark SoC, Bluetooth radio, gyroscope and a six-axis sensor with accelerometer. The battery can also be exchanged for another battery type that can be more permanent and can be recharged. Likewise, the module comes with 384KB of flash memory.
Krzanich also demoed at IDF, this time in Shenzhen, how a wristband powered by Curie, can detect motion. Much to the delight (or horror) of the audience, four robot spiders appeared onstage and were then placed under the command of Krzanich. Using a few simple gestures, Krzanich successfully made the spiders stand up, do "fist" pumps, change their LED colors and then finally go back to their motionless state.
"We believe the sky is the limit for wearables," said Krzanich. "Wearables can help solve the password problem."
That being said, the robot spiders were only used as a way to introduce just how a wristband embedded with Curie can also be used to unlock a computer so long as the machine can "detect" the user who is in close proximity to it. Intel guarantees the system includes a secondary password, which is usually required every time the user takes off the band. This keeps the computer locked until a password is entered, which should come in handy when a different person finds the band either by mistake or on purpose.
