Intel Acquires Drone Maker
January 04 2016 - 1:50PM
Dow Jones News
Intel Corp. said Monday it has purchased drone maker Ascending
Technologies, a 75-employee company that focuses on
professional-grade drones that automatically detect and avoid
obstacles.
Intel did not disclose the price but said all employees are
receiving offers to join Intel.
In a blog post, the chip company said the acquisition of the
Krailling, Germany-based company lets it "integrate the computing,
communications, sensor and cloud technology required to make drones
smarter and more connected."
Some of Ascending Technologies products already use Intel's
RealSense 3D camera. The company sells its products, which can be
used for visual inspections of hard-to-reach places and 3D
mapmaking, to companies and researchers.
As drones have become more popular, government regulators have
become concerned with their safety. Regulators recently started
requiring drones to be registered with the federal government.
Auto-avoidance systems, such as the ones being developed by
Ascending Technologies, could prevent drones from crashing into
trees, people and airplanes. According to an analysis of government
data by Bard College researchers, airplane pilots said that drones
flew closer than 500 feet to their aircraft 241 times from December
2013 to September 2015.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 04, 2016 13:35 ET (18:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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