In his keynote at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said, “In the future, if it computes, it connects. From the simplest embedded sensors to the most advanced cloud datacenters, we’re looking at techniques to allow all of them to connect without wires.”
Rattner demonstrated a working, all-digital WiFi radio, dubbed a “Moore’s Law Radio.” The CTO explained that an all-digital radio follows Moore’s Law by scaling in area and energy efficiency with such digital chip processes as Intel’s latest 22nm tri-gate technology. System-on-chip designs for smartphones and tablet computers would be the most likely spot for the all digital radios to be integrated.
The small size and lower cost of integrated digital radios will enable a host of new applications from wearable devices to “The Internet of Things”where devices such as home appliances with sensors can communicate with each other, exchange data and can be operated remotely, says Rattner.
He went on to describe a next-generation wireless standard called WiGig that operates in the millimeter wavelengths of the radio spectrum and delivers bandwidths well over 5 gigabits per second. The WiGig standard is an industry-wide effort to consolidate a number of proprietary 60 GHz wireless technologies under the existing WiFi standard.
“WiGig is so fast it will let you wirelessly dock your enabled Ultrabook, tablet or smartphone without wires,” said Rattner. “Even multiple displays can be docked at one time.”
Showing how the benefits of Smart Connect technology could be enhanced to include active operation for file transfer and video streaming, Rattner demonstrated “Spring Meadow,” which manages communication between the cloud and a device more intelligently. By pre-processing incoming network traffic and proactively managing traffic flow, “Spring Meadow” makes more efficient use of the host processor, allowing it to remain in a low-power state longer without impacting system performance.
Passwords remain the common, yet inconvenient way of protecting access to valuable or sensitive information. In an effort to eliminate the need for passwords, Intel Labs has developed a replacement scheme called Client Based Authentication Technology. Not only does it replace passwords, it dramatically simplifies and accelerates the process for accessing bank accounts, stock portfolios and other cloud-based personal information, says Rattner.