Intel

The Intel Corporation, based in California, is the world’s leading supplier of high-performance microprocessors and a major manufacturer of communication and network products. The company was highly involved in driving the revolutionary PC and Internet developments seen in recent years. Intel employs some 86,000 people in more than 60 countries around the world. This year, Intel will be investing approximately 5.9 billion US dollars in research and development and another 5.2 billion in expanding and converting its production plants. In this way, Intel is ensuring that it will continue to launch technologically leading products which offer added value for both private and professional users. State-of-the-art manufacturing methods ensure that retail prices remain stable without compromising on such important product attributes as performance and energy consumption.

Intel is constantly striving to develop innovative products. In the process, it seeks to bring together different companies and call for new industry standards. In the case of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), for example, Intel has made a huge achievement with the development of the R1000 transponder. To create this radio chip for RFID readers, Intel had to integrate over 100 individual components, together with 90 percent of standard radio components, into an RFID transponder. Functions such as transmission, reception, demodulation and baseband were united in a single chip. This permits the production of smaller reading devices with lower power consumption, and the high level of integration and compact size of the components look likely to bring down the price of RFID terminals as well. Thanks to Intel Xeon processors, the data thus acquired can be processed in server systems of any size.

Intel also uses RFID technology in-house. It helps to make chip production processes transparent, guarantee quality and ultimately optimize the entire supply chain – saving the corporation time and money. Seeking to promote the cross-industry use of RFID, Intel was a major driving force behind the foundation of the METRO GROUP Future Store Initiative. The company is responsible for overall technology project management within the alliance and provided the projecting and validation of RFID solutions deployed by METRO GROUP in the real,- Future Store. The company is responsible for all systems and networks which collect, convert and distribute information on the basis of RFID. The corporation also supplies the initiative with microprocessors.

Intel supports a wide range of projects in the METRO GROUP Future Store Initiative, including the development of open standards which will make RFID an efficient, cost-effective technology for retailers. Intel also consults with other participating companies and presents new products to them during the development phase. This results in IT processes and solutions that make retail logistics and inventory management more efficient. At the same time, they boost interaction with the customer, creating a better shopping experience.

Dr. Heiner Genzken
Principal Project Manager
Phone: +49 89 9914 3131
E-mail:  heiner.genzken@intel.com
 www.intel.com