Research @ Intel 2012 (pictures)

Basically a big grown-up science fair that would make your honor student look stupid. This is where Intel engineers get to stretch out a bit and show off their pet projects.

This resonated most with me: the idea of everything becoming a display and control surface. From the folding panel in the foreground to the entire wall in the background, whatever makes contextual and use-mode sense.

It was pretty home-brewed at this point, but the idea of a wall having a full array of images and touch points projected on it starts to connect the dots for the smart home we're still waiting for. I just don't know how we'll cost-effectively get big images on walls without projection we're always standing in the way of.

I've seen these real-time avatar demos before and they always make people cringe! Here you stand in front of cams and sensors and can try on different clothes, but the imaging has a long way to go...still.

Our model should have quit while she was ahead -- and before some CPU swathed her in this horsey cheongsam.

One of the most tangible parts of Intel research may be bringing intelligence and electrical efficiency to charging stations for EVs.

This technology got my mental vote for "Most Ready to Hit the Market Successfully." This electromechanical beam-stuttering technology really made a big visible difference in the amount of light reflected back at the demo headlights. I could see carmakers getting serious about this, especially coupled with their existing night vision technologies.