Intel, Partners Show Off Edison Platform for Wearable Devices, IoT

By Jeffrey Burt

Intel’s CEO holds up an Edison platform, telling the crowd: “What I really hope to see is an explosion of innovation based on this platform.” (Photo by Intel)

Several Intel interns from the University of Oregon have developed a bike helmet that includes an Edison platform that will receive calls from a smartphone if there is a crash, and will call emergency responders if there is no response from the biker. It also plays music.

Intel developers have created a game that tests the reaction time of players. When a light on the board turns on, each player tries to hit his or her button first. The data is collected and results correlated.

Initially, the wireless gateway used in the reaction game was based on the Galileo board (top), but designers are making the move to Edison.

Intel interns from the University of Arizona created a development project featuring mechanical spiders.

The first spiders were powered by the Galileo platform, held in the large black box. The developers will switch to Edison—seen in the upper left corner—which is smaller and will enable them to give the spiders a larger battery.

Another project is designed to connect construction helmets to the cloud. The helmet will record if a person falls or is struck in the head; it will also monitor for gas. It’s also now powered by Galileo, with plans to switch to Edison.

If the sensors in the helmet indicate a problem, an application will say where the helmet is and who is using it, and will show its location via a map. It also will send out a push notification.

The Synapse mind-controlled dress, created by Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht, uses embedded LEDs in the dress that change in pattern and intensity in response to the wearer’s concentration and physical surroundings.

Trossen Robotics is using Edison in its newest robot, the HR-OS1. Its frame and electronics are open-source and can be customized with 3D printable shells. It’s controlled via a tablet or smartphone.

An Edison-based connected rover device can be used, for example, to navigate around farmlands to test the moisture in the soil and send back the results via the Internet.

Magnitude.io uses rocket science to teach K-12 students about science. The students build the rocket, which is equipped with sensors, and send it about 50,000 feet into the air, getting back–via the cloud—data on barometric pressure, humidity, temperature and location. There also is an HD camera on board.

Until recently, Magnitude was using other technologies in the rocket, which breaks into several pieces that land easily to Earth, thanks to parachutes. Several months ago, the developers began using Edison inside.

This development project was created to show how a single Edison platform can run several systems and hopefully get people to eat better. It runs the camera, which can sense when new objects are in place in front of it. When an apple is in front, the camera’s software records it, the robotic cat gives a satisfied nod and the lights glow certain colors. When a bag of chips is used, the cat shakes its head and the lights change color.

3D Robotics is putting Edison into its most recent drone, the Iris+. The system can be used to take photos from above, take measurements like humidity, and keep track of a moving person using the company’s 3PV Follow Me technology.