Summary
Intel’s purchase of Movidius thrust Intel into the forefront of the drone industry.
The popular DJI Mavic drone that was just announced features Movidius chips.
Human sight is still uncommon on most consumer drones, suggesting upside ahead for Intel as it becomes more commonplace.
Img 1: Movidius
It all changed very fast for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) in the drone industry. Just a few months ago Intel went from having a handful of small largely underperforming investments in the drone industry that I discussed here to a position of dominance in the industry. It all changed with the acquisition of Movidius, an Irish chip firm that supplies chips for DJI that provides human like sight capabilities, similar to Intel’s Real Sense technology.
Human Sight
Img 2: Tracking a person on a DJI Phantom 4 Drone using Movidius technology
For drones one of their biggest limitations since becoming popular in recent years is their ability to detect and avoid obstacles. Sure, you can program a drone to fly via several GPS waypoints and deliver a small package. What has been much harder to achieve however is to ensure that the drone does not crash into tree branches or power lines as it executes its flight plan. Movidius has created the technology similar to Intel’s Real Sense technology that essentially creates smart drones, giving them sight and ensuring they do not crash into obstacles as they fly.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/4015162-look-intel-dominate-drone-market