At this year's Intel Developer Forum in Shenzhen, China, the company's CEO, Brian Krzanich demonstrated its latest depth-sensing camera technology, outlined its plans for the internet of things and took control of a small army of robot spiders using nothing more than a wristband and some air gestures. Intel' s chips are inside more PCs than any other company's but the company is also hoping to address processor needs of smartphones, tablets and hybrid computers, with the Intel Atom x3 processor family (codenamed 'SoFIA') that will make devices affordable but still powerful.

Rockchip CEO Min Li joined Krzanich on stage to discuss progress made since the companies formed a strategic collaboration last year to expand the offerings of the Intel Atom x3 processor family. Multiple original design manufacturers (ODMs) are designing products based on the Intel Atom x3-C3230RK quad-core processor reference design from Rockchip, with devices expected to be in market later this quarter. In addition, Intel previously announced ecosystem support from 20 companies, with more than 45 tablet, phablet and smartphone designs currently in development based on the Intel Atom x3 processor reference designs.

Intel showcased the first live demonstration of the Intel Atom x3 processor in a smartphone, supporting LTE-TDD connectivity over China Mobile's network. The part is expected to ship in the second half of this year.

The company also announced the expansion of the Intel Atom x3 processor roadmap with the addition of 3G and LTE processors for the Internet of Things. The new purpose-built processors will be offered with an extended temperature range for extreme weather conditions, support for Linux and Android, and seven years of extended product lifecycle support. Developer kits will be available in the second half of this year.

Krzanich discussed how Intel RealSense cameras can provide vision-based capabilities for solving complex problems and delivering exciting new usages and capabilities across a variety of form factors. To that end, he showed for the first time a 6-inch smartphone prototype with a new, longer-range Intel RealSense camera built into the device.

RealSense can measure depth as well as movement to understand and differentiate between gestures, and the cameras have already found their way into laptops and desktops.

During his keynote, Krzanich unveiled a new camera module small enough to fit into a smartphone with a 6-inch display.

If adopted by device makers, the a new camera module found on the 6-inch smartphone could mean that you could literally wave a call away or bend a finger in mid-air to release the shutter on an obligatory selfie. Or it could lead to much more productive and creative uses such as being able to sketch ideas in the air or type on a virtual but full-size keyboard.

Intel announced that the Intel Pentium and Intel Celeron processors (code-named "Braswell"), the next-generation system-on-chip (SoC) based on Intel's 14nm process technology, are now shipping to Intel's customers for 2 in 1 devices, laptops, tower and miniature desktops, and all in one PCs. These processors offer the ideal balance of cost, performance and power, and are optimized for the value and entry segments. The new processors are expected to deliver up to two times the graphics performance and increased battery life compared to the previous generation at a lower thermal design point. More than 40 designs from a variety of OEMs are expected later this year.

Intel also announced it will expand the program to include the Intel Atom x5 processor to help reduce customers' cost and time to market for Intel-based tablets. The program offers a customizable reference design with differentiated applications and software, quality and certification support, software tools, and a component catalogue.

Intel unveiled the Mass Makerspace Accelerator program that aims to find and fund China's next global entrepreneurs, from makers and students to developers and startups, and includes a RMB 120 million investment.

However, the CEO saved the best for last and used nothing more than a wristband with an embedded Intel Curie module to control a group of four robot spiders. In the demo, Krzanich used simple gestures to make the spiders stand, raise one arm in the air, flash their LEDs and go back to sleep again.