So I went to the Intel Developer Forum this year. It was just as fun as last year, although this time I went with a few friends and we ducked out to explore San Francisco a little.

Highlights:

• I got another Intel Galileo board. (Yes, I’m aware the sensor page may be down. My server probably went offline at the campus.)
• We learned a little bit about I2C and got to play with the Intel Edison platform.
• I won an Asus ZenPad C 7 Android tablet. (Naturally, it uses Intel tech.) This is particularly cool to me; it’s my second modern Android tablet. (The first one I still need to blog about. Coming soon!)

There was a major focus on the Intel RealSense technology this year. One notable example was an “infinite run” style video game on a cell phone connected to a large television. The cameras on the cell phone detected the player’s position in front of the television and used that data to control the player’s character. Dodging left/right made your character dodge left/right on screen. It was impressive, especially considering that it was running on a cell phone, although the lag was noticeable. (The Intel employee had to change out cell phones because the first one was getting too hot!)

There were also robots. Terrifying robots. Terrifying six-legged four-foot-tall arachnid robots, plus a small army of its brethren doing a synchronized dance. It was creepy, but in an awesome way. Then there was the Savioke Relay. If this is what the robot uprising looks like, I have bad news: we’re all doomed, because its cuteness is disarming. They gave it eyes. They gave it happy little digital eyes that somehow manage to convey more expression than certain people I know.

Don’t worry though, it has one weakness: carpet. Whoever did the interior decoration this year at Moscone put in some absurdly thick carpeting in places, and it was giving humans trouble. Now imagine a little top-heavy robot scooting around on wheels. Poor Savioke tried crossing from linoleum to carpet at full speed. Fortunately, he didn’t tip, and his sensors made him stop and proceed at a slower clip.

If Savioke is the next Skynet, I for one welcome our future robot overlords.