Intel Future Showcase shows what's possible today, tomorrow, and into the future

Intel held its Intel Future Showcase in Singapore for the first time on November 21, showing the technologies of today, tomorrow and the future in one place. The Showcase is part of a global campaign which also took place in Asia in Tokyo, Japan and in Taiwan the same month.

"The boundaries between technology and people are rapidly converging, and the stuff of science fiction could easily become a reality soon," said Chris Kelly, GM, Malaysia Design Center, Intel Malaysia. "This is why Intel remains fully committed to Asia, and will continue to invest in the region by inspiring and lowering the barriers of entry for creators, makers and imaginers to make the future more personal, safe and fun."

Asia is no longer just a manufacturing and assembly location. R&D for Intel Core and Atom processors has been conducted in Penang, Malaysia, while the SoFIA mobile chipset for entry-level smartphones was conceived in Singapore. 

Intel has had a presence in Malaysia for over 40 years, and the country is now the site of one of Intel's largest assembly and test sites globally. Penang houses nearly 10% of the company's global workforce, and has received over US$4 billion in investment. Some of the innovations on show were from Intel Malaysia, including the Galileo Air Piano, and a conceptual smart building. 

"Over the years, Intel has invested more than US$10 billion in Asia, and today, over 20,000 employees - one-fifth of Intel's global talent count - are based in this region," said Kelly. "As the global centrepoint for innovation, Asia is already leading the way in delivering integrated technology in our everyday lives. We're confident that the region will continue to be a huge driver of our vision to make every device smarter and more connected."

The showcase was divided into three sections to display applications that are already available today, coming soon, and conceptual, to come in the farther future. Applications available today include 2 in 1 devices, which are laptops that have a touch screen so that they can be folded over and used as a tablet as required; the smart buildings and wireless charging bowls are the applications of tomorrow, and the future could be about secure connected cars and devices charged by sunlight.

In the future: The connected car could potentially be hacked, with threat actors taking over the accelerator and other functions of the car. The Intel Collaboration Research Institute for Secure Computing has created a security mechanism that intercepts attacks and protects the driver and passengers of the car.  This execution-aware memory protection extends beyond cars to basically everything that can be hacked. 'TrustLite' is built into the hardware and expected to be used in Internet of Things applications. 

Available now: The Edison microcomputer, with the top removed, is a ready-to-use computer that's slightly larger than a postage stamp. It has wireless capabilities and supports different operating systems. It was launched in September and is expected to be used in wearables and other Internet of Things applications.

Available now: The Galileo maker board allows enthusiasts to create their own applications. It is the first board based on Intel architecture which is hardware and software pin-compatible with shields designed for Arduino Uno R3. It is also software-compatible with the Arduino software development environment. A sample board is to the right (cropped) while a working application with the board is on the left. The application demonstrates potential remote monitoring and management scenarios for the Internet of Things. Here, the Galileo board monitors Twitter for mentions of the hashtag #IntelFutureShowcase. The moment it finds a new mention, current is sent to the bubble maker toy so it starts blowing bubbles. 

Sensors are connected to a Galileo maker board and a user's distance from an infrared sensor (the 'eyes') controls what music the Air Piano produces. The board essentially processes the user's distance from a sensor and converts it into music which is delivered through speakers. Originally called the Air 'Piano' because it reproduced sounds from a piano, this new iteration includes sounds from other types of instruments, such as drums. Several people can 'play' the Air Piano at the same time to create a unique sound. A future iteration may allow recording of the music.

Coming tomorrow: the Llama Mountain reference design is about 2 in 1 devices that are light and fanless. The screen of this concept 2 in 1 detaches from the keyboard so it can be used as a standalone tablet. It is 12.5" and 7.2mm thick.

Already here: the Intel Education Tablet reference design includes a snap-on magnification lens (top right) for scientific education. These new-generation tablets have 70cm drop resistance, IP52 water resistance and dust resistance for heavy wear and tear. Battery life is 12 hours.

In the future: the smart building has sensors that can adjust lighting, air-conditioning, even whether the escalators are running, depending on environmental other conditions. It can also be remotely controlled. Data recorded can be analysed so that suggestions can be made about the most cost-effective temperature or lighting conditions.

A smart building can be remotely controlled from a tablet or a phone.

Here tomorrow: the wireless charging bowl is exactly what it says: devices can be left in the bowl to charge, without worrying about whether there is the right cable and charger available. The bowl is a reference design based on Rezence technology. Intel is a member of the Alliance for Wireless Power, which aims to build a global wireless charging ecosystem based on Rezence technology. While the technology is there mobile devices that support wireless charging are expected to arrive in 2015.

Wireless charging technology can also be created in a coffee table format for cafes. In this prototype the lit part shows the actual charging area, which can charge three to four phones. The specification supports up to eight phones. 

The future will also be about solar charging, which currently requires an entire supporting system to turn sunlight through solar charging panels into electricity that can be used within a building. Intel is cutting the process short (no pun intended) by building portable boxes that can be connected directly to solar panels to charge its education tablets. The boxes are intelligent enough to know if they are able to charge a device and light up accordingly. A version of the box accepts USB cables, allowing it to charge any device that uses a USB charging system. The whole system has also been shrunk into a tablet so that a device can be connected straight to a solar panel in future, as required.

View the associated video here.