The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022, slated to run from January 3–8, is moving along at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC)—and Intel is taking full advantage of the limelight.

Last year, Intel unveiled four distinct processor families for business, education, gaming, and desktop applications, each offering improvements to high-speed processing using SuperFin technology.

Gregory Bryant, executive VP of Intel's client computing group, speaks at CES 2022. Image used courtesy of Intel

Now, Intel is using CES as a platform to announce its 12th Gen Intel Core processor for mobile and IoT applications. The company also has plans to highlight its automotive solutions, including Mobileye and Mobileye EyeQ, which are designed for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) system-on-chip (SoC) designs. For high-definition graphics for gaming, image, and video processing applications, the company will release its Alchemist solution, the first of Intel's Arc graphics.

Together, these announcements support Intel's key focuses moving into 2022: high-performance cloud-to-edge infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and pervasive connectivity. 

Intel's Latest 12th-gen Processors 

Intel says the 12th Gen Intel Core processor family is built for computing designs across several PC product segments, ranging from ultra thin-and-light laptops to heavy desktop gaming workstations. By offering up to 5.2 GHz max turbo boost and 16 and 24 cores and threads, respectively, this processor family, comprising 60 processors, is purported to boost performance for enthusiastic gamers and professional creators alike.

Intel has incorporated a "performance hybrid architecture" into this processor family. This architecture allows flexible system designs that adapt to the complex foreground and background blending-intensive workflows.

Block diagram of the 12th Gen Intel Core Mobile. Image used courtesy of Intel

With the latest additions to its 12th-Gen processor family, Intel now provides a platform specifically for IoT-related healthcare, digital safety, manufacturing, and retail applications. The company code-named this processor family Alder Lake S-series and H-series and upgraded it for the edge. These devices offer the conventional performance hybrid architecture that is found in the Intel Thread Director, Performance-cores, and Efficient-cores.

In addition to the processors' computing specs, Intel says these new additions are flexible enough for use in heavy IoT workloads, accelerated deep learning, and AI capabilities in the absence of additional hardware. Other stated benefits include extra hardware-based security, support for 4K and 8K displays with integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and high reliability. 

Intel Arc Graphics. Image used courtesy of Intel

Intel envisions these devices offering workload convergence and interactive displays across a number of IoT-focused applications, including retail, banking, hospitality, and education. They can also be used for advanced ultrasound imaging, endoscopy, and clinical devices in healthcare.

For digital safety and security, the new family can be used to drive higher results from AI box analytics, video recorders, and video walls. The additions are also said to support machine vision systems, industrial PCs, and edge servers for industrial manufacturing.

Intel Boosts Its Automotive Efforts with Mobileye 

The autonomous vehicle industry is set to reach up to $70 billion by 2030, and Intel has taken note. 

Since acquiring Mobileye through its subsidiary, Cyclops Holdings, in 2017, Intel has been working to achieve automated driving solutions. By unveiling its latest chip technology, Mobileye EyeQ, the company will reveal its progress on radar and LiDAR technology. The Mobileye EyeQ SoC is a purpose-built chip "for end-to-end autonomous driving." Intel claims the SoC maximizes efficiency at 176 TOPS (tera operations per second), making it the industry's leanest AV chip.

Hardware present at the event include:

• EyeQ 4-100 (1.7MP), used in Honda's 100° front camera
• EyeQ 5, based on an 8MP HD camera and offering a 120° view
• Mobileye SuperVision with surround camera coverage
• AV Kit, a self-driving system, including six EyeQ 5s
• Software-defined digital-imaging radar
• Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDAR

The EyeQ 5. Screenshot used courtesy of Mobileye

Mobileye EyeQ pairs four classes of task-specific proprietary accelerators with ISPs, GPUs, and CPU cores. Due to its comparatively higher efficiency, the EyeQ SoC is also said to deliver a balance of performance and price-point for consumer-level AVs.