Intel been showing off new family of low-power chips named after a money grubbing Star Trek character called Quark.

As reported earlier, Intel said its new subatomic Quark X1000 chips are about one-fifth the size and consume one-tenth the power of its Atom processors, its most power-efficient line of chips. Quark is apparently a 32-bit x86 chip.

Atoms are aimed at tablets and smartphones, Quark will be for devices with even lower-power requirements, such as smartwatches, glasses and medical devices that can be worn about the body. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco that there was cash to be made in the area of wearable computers.

The big news is that Chipzilla has hired the designer of the Nike FuelBand, Steve Holmes, and a developer of Oakley's Airwave heads-up display and other eyewear, Hans Moritz. Intel won't make the devices, but it will create reference designs for partners to work with, as it does with laptops and other products.

It is an interesting approach on Intel’s part and proof that it has high hopes for wearable gear. We not very optimistic when it comes to smart watches and glasses, at least not yet, but in the big scheme of things they are the future – although they won’t be as successful as smartphones, at least not in the short term. In addition, it is worth noting that Qualcomm is working along similar lines, hence Intel doesn’t want to miss the boat, again.