Intel issues end-of-life notice for RealSense LiDAR

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Robotics was an application Intel targeted with its RealSense L515 LiDAR. | Photo Credit: Intel

Intel issued an end-of-life (EOL) notice (PDF) for the RealSense LiDAR, tracking and facial authentication products. This is, of course, part of Intel’s plan to wind down its RealSense business.

Intel will be discontinuing production of the following RealSense products:

• Intel RealSense LiDAR Camera L515
• Intel RealSense ID Camera F455
• Intel RealSense ID Module F450
• Intel RealSense Tracking Camera T265
• Intel RealSense Tracking Module T261
• Intel RealSense DWS (Dimensional Weight Software)
• Intel RealSense TCS (Touchless Control Software)

Intel said the last date these aforementioned products can be ordered will be Feb. 28, 2022. The last date any of these products will be shipped is March 31, 2022.

In this EOL notice, Intel also reiterated that it will “continue to sell the stereo products to current distribution customers.” The key part of that phrase is “current distribution customers.” Intel offered the following ways to best replace the products that’ll be discontinued:

“Intel RealSense L515 will be best replaced by Intel RealSense D455 or D435i”
“Intel RealSense T265 will be best replaced by Intel RealSense D455 or D435i with 3rd Party SLAM SW”
“Intel RealSense F455 will be best replaced by Intel RealSense D415 or D435 with 3rd Party FA SW”

For robotics applications, the L515 solid-state LiDAR depth camera is likely most relevant here. It uses proprietary MEMS mirror scanning technology and consumes less than 3.5W power consumption for depth streaming. It features a maximum range of 9 meters, captures 23 million pixels per second and weighs just 100 grams. Intel said the L515 “brings an additional level of precision and accuracy” to “quickly gauge complex objects, handle occlusion or objects behind others with ease for a new level of performance in bin picking or grasping.”

As reported a couple of weeks ago, Intel is winding down its RealSense business. And there was, and perhaps still is, confusion about what “winding down” means. Many thought this meant all RealSense products, including the stereo depth cameras, were going away. But Intel RealSense Group CTO Anders Grunnet-Jepsen released the statement below. Notice, however, that even he edited the statement after the fact, adding in on August 23, 2021 that, “Important update. I changed this notice to reflect a change. D455 Camera will NOT EOL after all. All these stereo cameras will continue on! Thanks for the immense support and outreach.”

Perhaps Intel doesn’t want RealSense to be yet another Microsoft Kinect or Project Tango, despite all the similarities in the stories. One source at Intel RealSense told The Robot Report, “I don’t know how you wind down the RealSense business while still selling RealSense stereo products. This is very frustrating for us.” Another source from Intel RealSense added, “our team was not told ahead of time.”

Today’s EOL notice about the RealSense LiDAR, tracking and facial authentication products comes straight from Intel’s product change notification database. We encourage you to keep checking this database, or reach out to your local Intel RealSense rep, to keep updated on future product news.