Intel R&D sites to target embedded, cloud computing

Intel Corp. has announced its plans to invest $30 million in two additional Intel Science and Technology Centers (ISTC). The investment is part of Intel's 5-year, $100 million ISTC program that aims to increase university research and accelerate innovation in a handful of key areas.

According to the company, the new ISTCs will focus on embedded computing and cloud computing research. The research sites will both be located at Pittsburgh's Carnie Mellon University.

ISTC for secure computing Intel's second ISCT focuses on secure computing. The ISTC is based at the University of California-Berkeley in cooperation with several other universities. Learn more about Intel's other ISTC.

"These new ISTCs are expected to open amazing possibilities," said Justin Rattner, Intel's chief technology officer, in a statement. "Imagine, for example, future cars equipped with embedded sensors and microprocessors to constantly collect and analyze traffic and weather data. That information could be shared and analyzed in the cloud so that drivers could be provided with suggestions for quicker and safer routes."

The cloud computing ISTC hopes to broaden the company's "Cloud 2015" vision. The center will combine the top researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, University of California Berkely, Georgia Institute of Technology, Princeton University, as well as researchers from Intel. All of them will work together in exploring technology that will impact cloud computing, including built-in application optimization, more efficient and effective support of big data analytics on massive amounts of online data. They will also work on extending cloud capabilities to make it more distributed and localized.

The ISTC for embedded computing will not only tap into the expertise of leading researchers from Intel, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of California Berkely, but will also add expert researchers from Cornell University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State University. The aim of the ISTC is to form a new collaborative community to drive research to transform experiences in the home, car and retail environment of the future. A key area of research is to make it easier for these everyday devices to continuously collect, analyze and act on useful data from both sensors and online databases in a way that is timely, scalable and reliable.

Intel also said it expanded the ISTC program by openly inviting researchers from across the U.S. academic community to submit information to be considered in the process to define additional ISTCs.