LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 7, 2025--
What’s New: At CES, Intel unveiled an expanded product portfolio and new partnerships designed to accelerate automakers’ transitions to electric and software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Intel now offers a whole-vehicle platform, including high-performance compute, discrete graphics, artificial intelligence (AI), power management and zonal controller solutions alongside the Intel ® Automotive Virtual Design Environment (VDE) co-developed with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Intel’s approach addresses automakers’ cost and performance scalability challenges, enabling faster, more efficient and more profitable SDV development and deployment.
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“Intel automotive is bringing innovative solutions that reduce cost in the SDV revolution. Our whole-vehicle approach, combined with cloud integration, delivers a complete solution that drives down total cost of development and deployment while empowering automakers to build the future of mobility faster, more efficiently and more profitably.”
-- Jack Weast, Intel Fellow, vice president and general manager of Intel Automotive
Why a Whole-Vehicle Platform Matters: Intel’s whole-vehicle platform reduces inefficiencies of traditional fragmented approaches to vehicle architectures. By optimizing the entire vehicle’s electrical/electronic architecture, Intel drives significant cost reductions and performance improvements.
Supporting this platform, Intel introduced the availability of the Adaptive Control Unit (ACU), designed for electric vehicle (EV) power trains and zonal controller applications.
About the Adaptive Control Unit: The ACU U310 is a new kind of processing unit that supports the consolidation of multiple real-time, safety-critical and cybersecure functions, applications and domains (X-in-1) into a single chip. Traditional time and sequential processing-based micro and zonal controllers struggle to handle multiple workloads due to limited deterministic processing capabilities. In contrast, Intel’s new family of ACU devices integrates a flexible logic area that offloads real-time control algorithms from the CPU cores, ensuring reliable performance, freedom from interference (FFI) and deterministic data delivery even when consolidating multiple microcontroller workloads into a single zonal MCU. This dual-brain approach enables greater workload consolidation, lowers cost, and enhances safety, cybersecurity and performance.
When used in an electric vehicle power train, the ACU U310 supports advanced algorithmic solutions that reduce vehicle energy demand from the battery, automatically adapting high voltage and control frequencies to individual driver styles and road conditions. The ACU reduces cost per kilowatt and enhances energy efficiency, allowing the vehicle to reclaim up to 40 percent of the power train system energy losses, delivering a 3% to 5% efficiency boost during the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). This translates to increased range, faster charging and a more responsive driving experience while significantly reducing per-vehicle bill of materials (BOM), electric motor size and battery costs compared to traditional approaches.
The ACU’s programmability allows it to serve as a first-of-its-kind software-defined zonal controller, adapting to different vehicle topologies and applications. This flexibility streamlines the transition to software-defined vehicles, simplifies supply chains and reduces the complexity of the vehicle BOM.
How Next-Gen Architecture is Enhanced with AI Inside: Building on Intel’s first-generation AI-enhanced SDV system-on-chips (SoCs), Intel announced the upcoming second-generation Intel ® Arc™ B-series Graphics for Automotive set for production by the end of 2025. This solution provides the high-performance compute needed for more advanced in-vehicle AI workloads, next-generation human-machine interface (HMI) engines, and immersive in-vehicle experiences and AAA PC gaming. Paired with an Intel AI-enhanced SDV SoC, it delivers scalable performance for complex AI tasks, supported by the vast Intel AI ecosystem.
How Intel and AWS Revolutionize Automotive Software Development: Intel and AWS introduced the Intel Automotive Virtual Development Environment on AWS, a groundbreaking approach that ensures true hardware and software parity from cloud to car. This new offering addresses challenges throughout the vehicle development life cycle, enabling engineers to seamlessly switch between virtual and physical hardware setups. It integrates Intel ® Xeon ® processor-based Amazon EC2 instances and, for the first time, incorporates Intel’s Automotive SDV SoCs within the AWS environment, eliminating the need for expensive electronic control unit (ECU) simulators or developer boards. This collaboration provides a unified solution that accelerates innovation, reduces R&D costs and speeds time-to-market.
About Intel’s System-Level Advantage: Intel's whole-vehicle approach delivers numerous benefits to automakers, including cost reductions, enhanced vehicle performance, streamlined development, improved energy efficiency, seamless AI integration and faster time-to-market – all supported by Intel’s globally balanced supply chain.
More:Intel at CES 2025 | Intel Auto Keynote Explores Software-Defined Future (Video)
About Intel
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, we continuously work to advance the design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address our customers’ greatest challenges. By embedding intelligence in the cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, we unleash the potential of data to transform business and society for the better. To learn more about Intel’s innovations, go to newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.
© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
At CES on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, Intel introduced the availability of the Adaptive Control Unit (ACU), designed for electric vehicle (EV) power trains and zonal controller applications. The ACU U310 is a new kind of processing unit that supports the consolidation of multiple real-time, safety-critical and cybersecure functions, applications and domains (X-in-1) into a single chip. (Credit: Intel Corporation)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained early Wednesday.
The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety.
Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit “Surfin' USA.” In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.
The traffic jam on Palisades Drive prevented emergency vehicles from getting through and a bulldozer was brought in to push the abandoned cars to the side and create a path. Video along the Pacific Coast Highway showed widespread destruction of homes and businesses along the famed roadway.
Pacific Palisades resident Kelsey Trainor said the only road in and out of her neighborhood was blocked. Ash fell all around them while fires burned on both sides of the road.
“We looked across and the fire had jumped from one side of the road to the other side of the road,” Trainor said. “People were getting out of the cars with their dogs and babies and bags, they were crying and screaming."
A third wildfire started around 10:30 p.m. and quickly prompted evacuations in Sylmar, a San Fernando Valley community that is the northernmost neighborhood in Los Angeles. The causes of all three fires were under investigation.
Flames were being pushed by Santa Ana winds topping 60 mph (97 kph) in some places. The winds were expected to increase overnight, producing isolated gusts that could top 100 mph (160 kph) in mountains and foothills — including in areas that haven’t seen substantial rain in months.
The situation prompted the Los Angeles Fire Department to take the rare step of putting out a plea for off-duty firefighters to help. It was too windy for firefighting aircraft to fly, further hampering the fight.
Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X early Wednesday that California had deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to combat the blazes. “Emergency officials, firefighters, and first responders are all hands on deck through the night to do everything possible to protect lives,” Newsom said.
The erratic weather caused President Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel to inland Riverside County, where he was to announce the establishment of two new national monuments in the state. He remained in Los Angeles, where smoke was visible from his hotel, and was briefed on the wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved a grant to help reimburse California for the firefighting cost.
Officials didn't give an estimate of structures damaged or destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire, but they said about 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene and said many homes had burned.
By evening the flames had spread into neighboring Malibu and several people there were being treated for burn injuries and a firefighter had a serious head injury and was taken to a hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.
By early Wednesday, the Eaton fire, which started around 6:30 p.m. the day before, had quickly burned 1.6 square miles (4 square kilometers), according to fire officials. The Hurst fire jumped to 500 acres (202 hectares) and the Palisades fire, which started around around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and sent up a dramatic plume of smoke visible across Los Angeles, had destroyed 4.5 square miles (11.6 square kilometers) according to Angeles National Forest. The fires were at 0% containment as of early Wednesday.
“By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” Newsom warned residents, saying the worst of the winds were expected between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. He declared a state of emergency.
As of Tuesday evening, nearly 167,000 people were without power in Los Angeles county, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us, due to the strong winds.
Recent dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there’s been very little rain so far this season. Southern California hasn’t seen more than 0.1 inches (0.25 centimeters) of rain since early May.
The neighborhood, which borders Malibu about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown LA, includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
Long-time Palisades resident Will Adams said he immediately went to pick his two kids up from St. Matthews Parish School when he heard the fire was nearby. Meanwhile, he said embers flew into his wife's car as she tried to evacuate.
“She vacated her car and left it running,” Adams said. She and many other residents walked down toward the ocean until it was safe.
Adams said he had never witnessed anything like this in the 56 years he’s lived there. He watched as the sky turned brown and then black as homes started burning. He could hear loud popping and bangs “like small explosions,” which he said he believes were the transformers exploding.
“It is crazy, it’s everywhere, in all the nooks and crannies of the Palisades. One home’s safe, the other one’s up in flames,” Adams said.
Actor James Woods posted footage of flames burning through bushes and past palm trees on a hill near his home. The towering orange flames billowed among the landscaped yards between the homes.
“Standing in my driveway, getting ready to evacuate,” Woods said in the short video on X.
Some trees and vegetation on the grounds of the Getty Villa were burned by late Tuesday, but staff and the museum collection remain safe, Getty President Katherine Fleming said in a statement. The museum located on the eastern end of the Pacific Palisades is a separate campus of the world-famous Getty Museum that focuses on the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The fire also burned Palisades Charter High School.
Film studios canceled two movie premieres due to the fire and windy weather, and the Los Angeles Unified School District said it temporarily relocated students from three campuses in the Pacific Palisades area.
Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Janie Har in San Francisco, Hallie Golden in Seattle and video journalist Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Eaton Fire burns a structure Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Eaton Fire burns the AltaMed Medical building Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter is silhouetted in front of a burning structure as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Eaton Fire burns vehicles and structures Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Eaton Fire burns a residence Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Residents of a senior center are evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A resident of a senior center is evacuated as the Eaton Fire approaches Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Smoke from a wildfire is seen from the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A swimmer watches as a large dark plume of smoke passes over the beach from a wildfire from Pacific Palisades, in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A surfer takes off on a wave in Santa Monica, Calif., during sunset under a blackened sky from the Palisades fire in the Pacific Palisades on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Surfers Shaun Rosenberg, right, and Teal Greene take to the waves under a blackened sky from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades, during the sunset in Santa Monica, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
People flee from the advancing Palisades Fire, by car and on foot, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter battles the advancing Palisades Fire as it burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighters make a stand in front of the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Will Adams uses a garden hose to keep flames from damaging his home as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A person flees from an advancing wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A vehicle burns as the Palisades Fire sweeps through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
People wait with some belongings while fleeing the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
The Palisades Fire burns trees and homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A person tries to hose down embers from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter hoses down flames from the Palisades Fire in front of a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A woman cries as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A firefighter protects a structure from the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Will Adams watches as flames from the Palisades Fire close in on his property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Fire crews battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters battle the Palisades Fire as it burns multiple structures in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the advancing Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
CORRECTS BYLINE FROM ETIENNE LAURENT TO ETHAN SWOPE - The Palisades Fire burns a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A firefighter jumps over a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A residence burns as a firefighter battles the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Firefighters hose down flames as the Palisades Fire destroys a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
Vehicles are left stranded off the side of the road after residents tried to flee from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
A resident stands in front of a garage as fire crews fight the Palisades Fire nearby in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
