Chipzilla is doing a little aviating of its own, we see
Chipzilla, fresh from its drone light show at the Olympics, is keen to punt its line of Falcon 8 drones to industry, mounting a small but growing threat to the market dominance of Chinese manufacturer DJI.
At Xponential, the American Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems’ (AUVSI) annual shindig taking place in Colorado, US, Intel declared it had updated its still-in-beta flight planning software suite, Mission Control.
The suite is “designed to increase workflow efficiency and enhance automation of drone flights for commercial missions” including 2D and 3D visualisations of drone flight routes.
“Multiple layers of airspace information are integrated to support flight safety and compliance. Automatic pre-flight safety and system checks help validate the flight plan before the mission is executed,” Intel told us, which, if true, puts the system on a level, albeit user-centred rather than air traffic control-centric, with Britain’s own Altitude Angel.
The firm’s Falcon 8 drones can also be fitted with 42MP Sony RX1R II cameras, which Intel described as its “High Resolution Imaging Payload”. The octocopters’ onboard software is also said to be capable of collision avoidance, which is increasingly becoming an essential feature of commercial-grade drones.
While the Olympics light shows were undoubtedly eye-catching, Intel has not yet made any notable breakthroughs in terms of market share or penetration, at least on this side of the Atlantic. One to watch though. ®
