Intel was planning to diversify into products other than chips to sustain its business as the PC market is on the decline, and the latest push was the development of computers capable of recognizing human emotions with the use of its RealSense 3D camera. But it now seems Apple has dealt it a setback, says PC World.
Intel’s RealSense plans shattered
RealSense uses a combination of infrared, laser and optical cameras to measure depth and tracking motion. For example, it has been tested on a drone, which can navigate its own way through a forest. The camera is also capable of detecting changes in facial expressions.
Intel was intending to add the capability of reading human emotions by combining it with emotion recognition technology from Emotient. With the use of Emotient’s plug-in, RealSense was able to detect whether people are happy or sad after analyzing the movements of their eyes, lips and cheeks.
Last year, Intel added the plug-in to its RealSense developer kit and said it was capable of detecting a range of sentiments such as anger, contempt, disgust, fear, etc. All was going well for the chip maker until Apple stepped in and acquired Emotient a few months ago. It seems that after Emotient’s acquisition, Intel’s plans have come to a halt.
Why is Intel not using Emotient’s technology?
Intel recently published changes stating that it has removed the Emotient plug-in from the RealSense software development kit’s latest version. However, it did not make clear the exact reason for pulling the Emotient engine. Possibly, Intel did not want to rely on technology Apple now owns, or it may be that Apple made the decision of not providing access to the Emotient plug-in to the chip maker, the report says.
Smartphones, tablets, PCs and robots use RealSense technology since it is capable of capturing 3D video, recognizing objects and measuring distance. The RealSense SDK still has features that make it possible to recognize some facial expressions. However, it cannot be said with certainty whether they will be as effective as the technology from Emotient.
