Intel and Altera Expand Collaboration to Simplify Sensor Integration for Physical AI

Intel Corp. and Altera Corp. said they are jointly developing flexible, real-time sensor-bridge reference systems for edge and physical AI applications, including robotics. The collaboration is intended to accelerate development of intelligent systems across industries. The companies are combining Intel compute, connectivity, and software with Altera field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). They aim to help manufacturers manage the growing complexity of connecting, processing, and acting on real-world data in increasingly sensor-rich environments.

Farhad Shafai, head of business solutions and marketing at Altera, said physical AI systems must sense, decide, and act in real time, while the physical world demands accuracy, reliability, and safety. He said Altera FPGAs provide the sensor connectivity, data processing, and deterministic control that machines need to respond to the physical world, and remain programmable as sensors and AI models evolve. Combining them with Intel compute and software is intended to give OEMs a flexible foundation to tailor systems to their needs.

Founded in 1983, Altera supplies high-performance, programmable compute and connectivity systems for advanced and AI-enabled technologies. The San Jose, Calif.-based company describes itself as the largest pure-play FPGA provider, with a portfolio serving data centers, communications networks, and critical embedded systems. Intel acquired Altera for $16.7 billion in 2015 and sold 51% of the company to Silver Lake last year.

Intel and Altera said edge and physical AI systems may require data from different sensors and interfaces to be brought together while meeting timing, performance, power, and cost requirements. Some applications also need very high bandwidth or flexible form factors in which input/output (I/O) sits away from the compute board. Sensor data must then be streamed rapidly into memory for the host Intel processor to use across edge, robotics, and other workloads.

The companies plan to develop modular reference systems that combine Altera programmable hardware with a consistent Intel compute and software foundation. They said the goal is to give equipment OEMs more flexibility as applications, sensors, and workloads evolve, and to help them move more efficiently from prototype to deployment.

Dan Rodriguez, corporate vice president and general manager of the Edge Computing Group at Intel, said that as sensors multiply at the edge and through physical AI systems, customers need a simpler way to turn real-world data into timely action. He said Intel and Altera aim to give OEMs a flexible foundation that simplifies integration and helps them move faster from prototype to market deployment while meeting performance, power, and cost needs.

Intel and Altera said they plan to address multiple markets where real-time processing and programmable computing matter most. The companies intend to make resulting reference solutions accessible to developers through Intel’s Open Edge Platform software development kit (SDK) and an Altera SDK.

For robotics, the partners will combine Intel compute, connectivity, and robotics software with Altera FPGAs to address increasingly complex sensing, timing, and real-time processing requirements of intelligent machines. In healthcare, they are jointly developing a reference system targeting stringent latency and real-time requirements of advanced healthcare equipment. For aerospace and defense, the companies are collaborating on next-generation mission systems, focusing on size, weight, and power requirements for converged AI and signal-processing workloads.

Together, Intel and Altera said they will help OEMs move faster from prototype by reducing integration complexity and addressing performance, power, and cost requirements across a range of edge applications.