More tech news out of Las Vegas from the CES 2015. Intel focused on their RealSense technology, and the audience was able to see it in action when drones buzzed around the stage.

The idea of having drones flying everywhere is becoming increasingly popular. Amazon is probably one of the largest companies embracing the flying technology, test flying drones to prepare for their futuristic delivery service known as Amazon Prime Air. The technology is so important to the online giant that they recently threatened to take their research overseas if the FAA didn’t back off strict rules.

Now, Intel made their own drone called ping-pong and crammed it with their RealSense technology, which is a real-time processing engine that actually makes it possible for robots to evaluate its position in space and even read the emotions on a person standing in front of it.

Intel’s CES presentation got really exciting when the drones began flying everywhere, displaying all it’s capable of.

The drone equipped with Intel’s RealSense technology was able to monitor objects in its way and move around them. A man helping with the presentation ran at the drone, and it swerved out of the way immediately. Three more men did the same, passing the drone to each other without having to ever touch or control it. Every time, the drone avoided the guys perfectly.

To make things even more exciting, CEO Brian Krzanich put a drone through an obstacle course containing many left, right, and downward turns. The drone flew through it without a human having to control it. It made it through the entire course, and as a finale, it ran into a door. Immediately after, it hovered in one spot like nothing happened until the door opened. The drone sensed this and went on its merry way through the doorway, making a dramatic exit.

It seems like Intel’s RealSense technology works extremely well, which will be very useful in the future, especially with self-driving cars. Vehicles moving on their own may seem like an invention for the far, far future, but Google is already planning to get theirs on the road this year.

If self-driving vehicles ever become a trend, then Intel’s possibilities with RealSense is practically endless.

The presentation didn’t stop there. The tech company went even further by installing the technology in more everyday items such as clothing. An Intel employee wearing a jacket installed with RealSense said, “I can feel people moving around me.”

This new sixth sense allowed him to react a lot quicker. More importantly, the jacket can help those with poor eye sight. The employee, Daryl, is losing his, and wearing the jacket let him know when he was getting too close to something.

Intel didn’t announce any detailed plans about these products installed with RealSense being available to the future, but it’s definitely something we could see very soon. The beginning stages have already begun with Intel laptops. A chef with dirty hands was able to wave a hand and scroll through a recipe without ever having to touch the screen.

So it may be a few years before being used on drones and self-driving vehicles. It’s definitely not impossible. If the company desired to bring these things to the public tomorrow, they could. There just isn’t a huge market for these futuristic devices yet.

Once Amazon gets their drone delivery service running and Google has self-driving cars on the road this year, Intel may want to reconvene and begin making definite plans.

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[PhotoCredit: Seattle Times, Intel]