Intel repeated its presence at the DSE this year with an impressive set of vendor/partners using embedded microprocessors from the Silicon Valley giant.
To Intel, DSE is more than just a signage show; it is the tip of the iceberg of the IoT initiative and a great place to showcase just such technology, as vendors used embedded PC systems to empower everything from smart players and mobile device charging stations to interactive kiosks. Dell was there showing its end-to-end single point of contact sign solution; NEC showed one of its tiled video walls using an OPS plug-in board powered by the Intel microprocessor family; and Samsung was in the booth showing its latest media player (a set-back module) powered by a Core i5 processor and Intel HD Graphics GPU (4600). There was also a new (EL-10) reference design from Intel found in Gigabyte’s low cost GB-TCV1A entry level turn-key DOOH solution. It was powered by a cloud-based server using HTML5 as the standard (this is the new ‘WinTel’ solution, only NOT using MS Windows, but rather Google’s Chrome – ‘ChromeTel’ or ‘GoogTel’, perhaps?)
Beyond digital signage, virtually every other category in the DOOH space was covered with some kind of reference design from Intel. This includes: ‘Intelligent vending’; retail client management; interactive vending (with full touch screen, Pepsi); wearables; dining; interactive shopping; digital shelf labels; sports boards; ticketing; kiosks; juke box control; and even a ‘Memory Mirror’ adopted by Neiman Marcus, which allows virtual clothing to be placed (and compared side-by-side) with other colours and options.
Like Google, Intel’s presence helped to validate the DOOH space as a market that can give an entry to the IOT. We expect to see more of the same from these giants and other partners, as the tried and true long term players get used to the fact that new “Big Dogs” are coming to town.
