What would voice-activated hubs and intelligent robots look like in every home? In the near future this can become a reality as some of these innovations were showcased at CES 2018, the world’s largest consumer electronics fair. Electrolux Chief Operations Officer Jan Brockmann who visited CES, concludes the latest smart home trends from the fair, together with Chief Information Officer JP Iversen.
According to recent research conducted by the American media organization NPR and Edison Research, one in six American households currently owns a smart speaker such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. Smart speakers which have voice-control and connect with other smart products are clearly on the march and might shape the everyday life of billions of people in the future.
“This year, everything was connected. We saw that voice assistants are playing a much bigger role in everyday life. They are being used in everything from smart home products to cars and smart glasses,” says Jan Brockmann, Chief Operations Officer at Electrolux. “This technology is improving and becoming a natural interface for consumers.”
Iversen adds: “For me, there were two things that stood out at CES: The first is more evolved end-to-end connected ecosystems on display. They were really well-advanced and show the way forward. The second was all the great user interfaces. Voice is clearly the new standard, but also very advanced hands-on user interfaces were exciting to see, which certainly will make life easier for users.”
Together with other technology companies, Electrolux is part of a global initiative aiming to establish a global standard for connected products within Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF). During CES, Electrolux showcased several connected products together with partners to illustrate a fully connected smart home. According to Brockmann, the different connected parts and the technical processes are getting smoother which is driving the change rapidly.
Electrolux recently launched smart products like the Purei9 robot vacuum cleaner and connected washing machines and tumble dryers. The upcoming smart air conditioner – AirFlower™ was also on display at the OCF booth at CES; it allows you to, for example, see the appliance’s status and control the appliance from multiple other brands’ products and interfaces. At Google Home’s booth, the fully-connected and voice-controlled smart home was also on display, where the Electrolux Group brands Anova and Frigidaire showcased their latest smart products interacting with Google Assistant
“The vision is to create a fully connected home where all gadgets communicate with the same standard. Even if we are not there yet, this year’s CES gladly showed how connectivity is getting easier and that we will in the near future see more connected products that will evolve to a consumer friendly ecosystem and add value to people’s everyday life,” adds Jan Brockmann.
