American tech company Intel has once again taken back one of its divisions. The chip manufacturer, has shut down its New Devices Group which was responsible for the smartglasses and wearable devices projects. The project has been called off despite investing more than millions of dollars in to the group to venture in to the wearable devices market. However, Intel failed to make it a reality.
Reports have said that the group will be sent to the bone orchard. This will mean that about 200 employees can lose their jobs or might be moved to another part of Intel. Brian Krzanich, the chief executive of Intel had formed the group in 2013 with a promise. After the establishment, the company acquired the companies like the fitness tracker firm Basis which allowed the company to begin the production of smartwatches.
The american giant had also acquired the Google Glass rival Recon Instruments. However, despite all the above corporate purchases by Intel, the company could not come up with a successful wearable device. A spokesperson from Intel said, “Intel is continuously working on new technologies and experiences. Not all of these develop into a product we choose to take to market. The Superlight project is a great example where Intel developed truly differentiated, consumer augmented reality glasses.” The spokesperson added that they are now looking forward to take a disciplined approach as they are inventing and approaching new technologies, which can sometimes require to make tough choices when the market analysis do not allow any further investments.
The chip manufacturer had earlier in 2018 showed off the prototype of its Vaunt augmented reality glasses. It was internally known as the superlight. The glasses had used laser tech that projected images in to the wearer’s eye, which meant that it looked like a normal pair of specs instead of the nerdy style sci-fi band. Now that the project has been taken back there are no chances of the Vaunt taking off in the market.
Photo Credits: NDTV
