Intel Unveils Technology for Cars; Chip Maker, Seeking New Revenue Sources, Shows Off Entertainment, Navigation Tool

Intel Unveils Technology for Cars

Chip Maker, Seeking New Revenue Sources, Shows Off Entertainment, Navigation Tool

DON CLARK

Updated May 29, 2014 11:29 p.m. ET

Intel Corp. INTC +1.21% , continuing a search for additional revenue sources, is stepping up efforts to place its technology into cars.

The Silicon Valley company on Thursday is unveiling what it describes as an “in-vehicle solutions platform,” which includes a circuit board with an Intel processor that comes prepackaged with special-purpose software. Intel hopes the combination can provide a foundation for applications such as digital entertainment and navigation, the company said.

By integrating and testing the hardware and software, Intel says it can help auto makers and their suppliers trim as much as 12 months off the time needed for development projects.

What technology will power the intelligent car of the future? Doug Davis, vice president of Intel’s Internet of Things group, joins Lunch Break with Lee Hawkins. Photo: Intel.

Elliot Garbus, a vice president and general manager of Intel’s automotive solutions group, noted that the technology it developed includes a new variant of the Linux operating system targeted at auto applications.

That is a somewhat surprising decision, since Intel’s Wind River Systems unit has long sold software used in cars. Intel also has collaborated with groups that have developed other auto-oriented versions of Linux.

“We are creating another option, which offers some compelling advantages,” said Mr. Garbus, while noting that Intel will keep supporting other software targeting the auto market.

Intel, facing a slowdown in chips used in personal computers, has been moving into new fields such as chips for wearable computing. Though it has long sold to auto makers and their suppliers, the company faces many entrenched rivals in the market, including Freescale Semiconductor Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc.TXN +0.20%

The company has leaned on its big venture-capital unit to try to bolster its position. In 2012, Intel announced a $100 million “connected car” fund to sink money into startups in the field.

For example, Mr. Garbus said, Intel has invested an undisclosed amount in ZMP Inc., a Japanese companies that has developed autonomous driving technology that makes use of sensors, radars and cameras.

Intel, which employs staff anthropologists to study how people use technology, on Thursday is also discussing research it is funding in the auto field. One project, called “Secure My Car,” focuses on the potential security flaws in vehicle electronics and how to address them, the company said.

Though Intel’s short-term focus is getting into today’s car dashboards and control panels, Mr. Garbus said its long-term goal is to provide processors for self-driving cars—a field exemplified lately by Google Inc., GOOGL -0.30% which on Tuesdayunveiled its first autonomous car prototype.

An Intel spokeswoman declined to comment on individual customers, but she added that the company’s technology is already in autonomous cars.