CES 2015: Intel's Curie chip for wearables is the size of a jacket button

Chip will power wearable tech of the future

LAS VEGAS: Intel has announced a chip called Curie, which is the size of a jacket button and is designed to power wearables of the future.

The module was unveiled on stage by Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich during the firm's keynote at CES 2015, and will allow developers to "deliver wearables in a bigger range of ways", for example rings, pendants, jackets, handbags, and so on.

Curie includes a processor, Bluetooth low-energy radio, sensors and an engine dedicated to determining different sporting activities.

"Last year we unveiled Edison. As engineers, we knew we could do better and make computers and compute even smaller," said Krzanich.

"And I can tell you we've done it, we've made them so small it's like a button on this jacket. This changes the game of wearables."

The module is able to run for extended periods with a coin-sized or rechargeable battery.

"In addition to Quark we've added a classification engine that allows it to identify different sporting activities quickly and precisely," said Krzanich. "We've [also] created a simple app to show you it works."

The chip is fresh out of the labs, but Krzanich said that Curie will be available as a platform sometime during the second half of 2015.

As part of the announcement, Krzanich invited Colin Baden, chief executive of eyewear firm Oakley, on stage to unveil a partnership between the firms to co-develop some kind of face wearable powered by Curie.

Krzanich also said that Intel will invest $300m to sort out its diversity problem, in an acknowledgement that most of its workers are white and male, like most of the other technology firms out there.