Intel Corp acquired Toronto tech start-up CognoVision for an undisclosed sum, the smart signage company’s backer said on Tuesday.
CognoVision’s technology enables its customers to measure audience interaction with digital signage to better target marketing messages, the MaRS innovation center said in a statement.
CognoVision uses small camera sensors and computers to detect faces and track how people watch ads as they move through a store and can adapt advertising in real time.
When a shopper turns to watch a digital display or lingers over a specific sign, for example, CognoVision detects and compiles this information and can even prompt the sign to change its message depending on the age or gender of the viewer.
Intel is interested in smart signage as a destination for its Atom processors, which are ubiquitous in netbooks, as well as more powerful Core processors for data-heavy applications such as video analytics.
“We already have a presence in digital signage and we’re looking to accelerate that presence,” Intel spokesman Robert Manetta told Reuters. “This is one way we’re looking to do it, through this acquisition,” he added.
Intel said the deal closed in September but also declined to provide pricing details but said it was relatively small.
Intel processors have powered CognoVision’s software applications since at least July 2009.
Toronto-based MaRS, a government-backed nonprofit organization designed to support technology start-ups, said it has worked with CognoVision since 2006 to develop the company’s product and business strategy.
Source: Reuters
