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chanj
When I first saw the LG's add of connected appliance, I think it's a hook to ...
RTewell
I believe our colleagues in Japan are working on a bot for that...
Yoshida in Japan: Second-coming of Steve Jobs
Junko Yoshida
1/24/2013 12:01 PM EST
Home appliances: Playground for the engineer
As much as I hate calling every appliance at home “smart,” LG’s advanced hom-bot vacuum cleaner appears to have gotten measurably smarter.
For example, the new robotic vacuum cleaner now uses two improved cameras to plot out a faster and more efficient cleaning route, according to the company. Taking several images per second, the upper and lower cameras scan ceilings, walls and floors, even under dim lighting conditions. This information is analyzed to generate smarter mapping. At the same time, multiple sensors detect obstacles within a 180-degree field, taking hundreds of surface images to help provide collision-free operation.
Are you getting the picture here?
Well, I am.
I’ve finally realized that it’s no longer just the glamour goods--TVs, Hi-Fi systems and Blu-ray recorders--consuming masses of microcontrollers, sensors and other chips. Nowadays, every drab appliance is a genuine playground (or “platform”) for the engineer who wants to make things more intelligent than ever before.
In this column, I’m going to refrain from the usual “who-needs-it” retort (like changing a washing cycle on your smartphone? Come on!), mainly because that would take a whole new column. I’ll just confess my amazement how far all the white goods have come; and the opportunities white goods bring to the market.
In the back of my mind, I think I always understood how the Energy Star movement in the United States (to lower power consumption in appliances) drove development of a new generation of white goods.
But beyond that, it’s important to point out that the key is “connectivity.” There is a decidedly new trend of pairing appliances with smartphones--for the purpose of adding more features. Along with this comes the usual hype about the Internet of Things. But putting all these elements into a big picture, I sense that low power, connectivity and smartphones are a fresh impetus for the revival of home appliances at CES.
There is, however, another reason why the home appliance is turning into a new darling for some CE companies. Take a look at Panasonic.
Faced with the huge challenge of bringing Japan’s largest consumer electronics company back to profitability, Panasonic is falling back on the company’s home appliance business, instead of what was once a flagship TV business. In financial results for the first six months of the current fiscal year, the only segments where Panasonic’s sales increased were appliances and automotive systems.
When asked about the shift of emphasis from TV to home appliances during an interview at CES, Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic, said that home appliances have more promise because they’re “standalone” products. In his definition, TV is an "infrastructure-based product" which requires a whole host of development efforts in content, broadcast and services before a new generation of smart TV can really stand out. In contrast, home appliances pose a simpler, easier route to profitability. While Panasonic is not walking away from TV anytime soon, Tsuga holds high hopes for the future of home appliances.
To push Panasonic as a household appliance brand in the global markets, now ruled by GE, Hoover and Electrolux, might not be so easy. But if you see how non-traditional brands like Dyson and iRobot--both little known to regular consumers only a decade ago--have taken the market by storm (especially in Japan), you know it can be done. The storm, however, needs truly unique technologies, thoughtful designs and perhaps good-looking CEOs.
Related stories:
As much as I hate calling every appliance at home “smart,” LG’s advanced hom-bot vacuum cleaner appears to have gotten measurably smarter.
For example, the new robotic vacuum cleaner now uses two improved cameras to plot out a faster and more efficient cleaning route, according to the company. Taking several images per second, the upper and lower cameras scan ceilings, walls and floors, even under dim lighting conditions. This information is analyzed to generate smarter mapping. At the same time, multiple sensors detect obstacles within a 180-degree field, taking hundreds of surface images to help provide collision-free operation.
Are you getting the picture here?
Well, I am.
I’ve finally realized that it’s no longer just the glamour goods--TVs, Hi-Fi systems and Blu-ray recorders--consuming masses of microcontrollers, sensors and other chips. Nowadays, every drab appliance is a genuine playground (or “platform”) for the engineer who wants to make things more intelligent than ever before.
In this column, I’m going to refrain from the usual “who-needs-it” retort (like changing a washing cycle on your smartphone? Come on!), mainly because that would take a whole new column. I’ll just confess my amazement how far all the white goods have come; and the opportunities white goods bring to the market.
In the back of my mind, I think I always understood how the Energy Star movement in the United States (to lower power consumption in appliances) drove development of a new generation of white goods.
But beyond that, it’s important to point out that the key is “connectivity.” There is a decidedly new trend of pairing appliances with smartphones--for the purpose of adding more features. Along with this comes the usual hype about the Internet of Things. But putting all these elements into a big picture, I sense that low power, connectivity and smartphones are a fresh impetus for the revival of home appliances at CES.
There is, however, another reason why the home appliance is turning into a new darling for some CE companies. Take a look at Panasonic.
Faced with the huge challenge of bringing Japan’s largest consumer electronics company back to profitability, Panasonic is falling back on the company’s home appliance business, instead of what was once a flagship TV business. In financial results for the first six months of the current fiscal year, the only segments where Panasonic’s sales increased were appliances and automotive systems.
When asked about the shift of emphasis from TV to home appliances during an interview at CES, Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic, said that home appliances have more promise because they’re “standalone” products. In his definition, TV is an "infrastructure-based product" which requires a whole host of development efforts in content, broadcast and services before a new generation of smart TV can really stand out. In contrast, home appliances pose a simpler, easier route to profitability. While Panasonic is not walking away from TV anytime soon, Tsuga holds high hopes for the future of home appliances.
To push Panasonic as a household appliance brand in the global markets, now ruled by GE, Hoover and Electrolux, might not be so easy. But if you see how non-traditional brands like Dyson and iRobot--both little known to regular consumers only a decade ago--have taken the market by storm (especially in Japan), you know it can be done. The storm, however, needs truly unique technologies, thoughtful designs and perhaps good-looking CEOs.
Related stories:
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de_la_rosa
1/25/2013 10:09 AM EST
Panasonic's selling point has always been in quality. Today's phones, laptops and TV's have no moving parts or difference in materials (vs 1 decade ago). So there is no selling point for Panasonic (and Sony) for today. It makes sense they still strive in home appliances.
Dyson get on my nerves. They have been selling their CEO per-se for the last 20 years. If the Japanese are buying them like hot-cakes, it means the Japanese are easily manipulated by such marketing.
And Mr Dyson is not good looking.
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selinz
1/25/2013 1:01 PM EST
lol. I don't know about all that. What I do know is that it's easier to get my wife to walk over and press the "go" button on the Roomba and to push around our Kirby...
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Sparky_Watt
1/25/2013 1:33 PM EST
Actually, I'm going to make Junko's "who needs it" comment for her, and I'll keep it brief. A machine that requires your attendance for operation (like a washer) doesn't need a Smart Phone interface. A multi-touch screen, maybe. But the ability to reconfigure it from your phone is just adding bells and whistles for their own sake. Waste of my money!
On the other hand, being able to control a Roomba-like device remotely has some possible conveniences. If the cost adder were small enough, it might be worth it.
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DaStargzer
1/25/2013 2:52 PM EST
"Taking several images per second, the upper and lower cameras scan ceilings, walls and floors, even under dim lighting conditions. ... At the same time, multiple sensors detect obstacles within a 180-degree field, taking hundreds of surface images to help provide collision-free operation."
Great! I'm just waiting for the script-writers for "Person of Interest" and "NCIS" to have Mr. Finch's Machine or Agent Timothy McGee hack a vacuum cleaner's cameras!
As the old song says, "Paranoia strikes deep; into yor life it will creep."
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junko.yoshida
1/25/2013 7:03 PM EST
i love this script!
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Larry M
1/25/2013 3:57 PM EST
DaStargazer wrote "Great! I'm just waiting for the script-writers for "Person of Interest" and "NCIS" to have Mr. Finch's Machine or Agent Timothy McGee hack a vacuum cleaner's cameras!"
That's already being done, isn't it? Doesn't the robot that iRobot sells to the military have cameras and telemetry for sending into possibly hostile-occupied buildings? And certainly the iRobots that were sent to Japan to help shut down Fukushima-Dae Ichi have cameras and telemetry.
You remember Scott McNealy's comment, don't you?
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tb1
1/25/2013 5:31 PM EST
Actually, having a smartphone interface to a washer or dryer would be really, really nice in an apartment complex or college dorm.
Before walking down three flights of stairs with a heavy hamper filled with dirty clothes, you could check if a washer is available (and even reserve it if the software is really done right). Then it could text you when it is done.
I'm guessing that this isn't what they are doing with the technology, though. It is a shame.
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junko.yoshida
1/25/2013 7:13 PM EST
tb1, this is a great idea! There is nothing that I hate more than pending my saturday afternoon waiting for the machines to become available in a laundry room in my NY apartment!
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IDontUseTheForumSoWhyAmIForcedToMakeANickname
1/27/2013 2:49 PM EST
I've seen a web page where somebody actually did this ... and it may have been a college dorm as well.
Anyways, I'll agree with Junko, it's a great idea.
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kwerner
1/27/2013 1:11 PM EST
Since somebody is always at the washing machine to load the clothes, they can press the ON button. So I agree with Sparky_Watt's "Who needs it?" Now, if I could teleport my clothes to the machine....
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junko.yoshida
1/29/2013 3:15 AM EST
...and fold my clothes for me...
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RTewell
1/31/2013 10:31 AM EST
I believe our colleagues in Japan are working on a bot for that...
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Duane Benson
1/29/2013 4:25 PM EST
I think that these electronified (I avoided the term "smart") appliances have become "glamor goods." It's another place that early adopters can venture into - another place people can go to "one up" their friends and neighbors.
Beyond that, I'm not sure anyone really knows how much these new devices will change our lives. We may eventually find out that no one really gets added utility out of a connected refrigerator, but that everyone will find the need to own a connected coffee maker. I think we'll find uses we never thought possible.
I, personally do see the utility in a connected washer / dryer. Mine are in a location that I can't readily hear. I often get busy and forget about the wash machine until the clothes have set so long that they need another wash cycle. A text message from the washer could get me up there in time to prevent that and my drier could contact me in time to get the clothes out before they wrinkle.
One could probably come up with a practical use for putting connectivity into just about anything. How about a lowly garden hose? If the hose is left out pressurized on a hot day, it can burst. If it's left left out with water in it during freezing weather, the same could happen. That's a perfect place for an IP connected sensor, once the cost gets low enough.
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Robotics Developer
1/29/2013 7:26 PM EST
Duane,I might suggest setting a timer on your smart "whatever" or just on the stove and have it go off when the washer or the dryer should be finishing. That is a low tech but effective means to smarten up your wash duties..
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chanj
1/31/2013 7:43 PM EST
When I first saw the LG's add of connected appliance, I think it's a hook to consumers to drive them either buy their smartphone if they own LG appliance or to buy their appliance if they own LG smartphone. I still believe that. Nonetheless, i can't rule out the potential of connected appliance. It might be able to tell you that you don't know or already forget - like expired food in the fridge.
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