Intel’s Computer Vision For Driverless Cars

Intel has acquired Itseez, a computer vision startup, to advance its position in the Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive space.

The San Francisco-based startup’s computer vision technology helps machinery acquire, process, analyze and understand images from the real world to make decisions and automate actions. Until now, it has provided software tuning and integration in several market-leading products ranging from cars to security systems.

“While the possibilities are exciting, the reality requires solving a myriad of technology challenges. Solutions will need to seamlessly deliver a combination of compute, connectivity, security, machine learning, human machine interfaces and functional safety,” Doug Davis, SVP of the IoT group at Intel, said.

Itseez’s technology, Intel said, is particularly vital in equipping it with the right tools to develop driverless cars — something that Intel believes has the potential of yielding $507 billion in productivity gains. The acquisition will help Intel improve upon the computer vision of its cars and add new capabilities to its automotive portfolio, such as functional safety and over-the-air software management.

“Itseez will become a key ingredient for Intel’s Internet of Things Group (IOTG) roadmap and will help Intel’s customers create innovative, deep learning-based CV applications, like autonomous driving, digital security and surveillance and industrial inspection,” VentureBeat reported, paraphrasing Davis.

In a blog post, Davis said the acquisition empowers Intel to better provide end-to-end IoT solutions and be on top of the new wave of IoT commerce. “The IoT future we’re building for our customers is exciting, and the talented team at Itseez will help us get there faster.”

Itseez’s acquisition comes after the chipmaker giant acquired Yogitech, an Italian tech firm specializing in “semiconductor functional safety and related standards,” to improve upon the safety factor of its driverless cars.