IFAHomeAppliances-Bosch(Source:IFAofficialsite)

Byseeingoffthelastgroupofvisitorson5thSeptember,IFA,oneoftheworld'sleadingtradefairsforconsumerandhomeelectronics,hascompletedanothermilestonetobeahubforthemostcutting-edgetechinnovationsoftheindustry.

Accordingtothestatistics,IFA2018hittherecord-highinthenumberofexhibitorsandproductlaunches,whichcreatedaspecialatmosphereforalltheparticipantstobrainstormaboutthefutureandthetechnicalopportunitiestothechallengesahead.

Afterroamingaroundtheexhibitionhallsfilledwitheitherbigbrandsoremergingplayers,andtryingouttonsofsmartgadgetscollectedfromallovertheworld,theremightbenobetterwordstosummarisetheIFAthisyear,aswellasthetrendsintheconsumerelectronicsandhomeappliancesindustrythanthefollowing3:AI,connectivityandco-innovation.

ArtificialIntelligence

IFA-Samsung

Thewording“poweredbyAI”hasbeenfrequentlycommunicatedwaybeforetheopeningofIFA,frommanynewproductlaunchingevents,likeHonor,SonyandLenovofortheapplicationsinmachinelearning,naturallanguageprocessing,roboticsandsoon.Artificialintelligenceiscertainlyabuzzwordimplantedintheentiretradefair.

AIisnothingnewtothesmartphonemanufacturesbecauseoftheever-increasinguseofimagerecognitionandvoiceinteractionfunctions,likevirtualassistantSirifromiPhone,orevenfurther,theAIimagestabilisationfeature,whichhasbeeninusesinceHonor10andHuaweiP20.AlmostallthesmartphonedisplayedatIFAarehighlightingtheapplicationofAI.Thenew flagshipSoC-Kirin980fromHuaweiannouncedatIFA,isalsofeaturingthedualNPUforstrongerAIprocessingpower.

Astorobotics,shortlybeforetheofficialopeningofIFA,SonyintroducednewaiboforthefirsttimeinEurope,whichisaniconicrobotpetforfamilyentertainmentwithfacialrecognitionandvoicecontrolcapabilities.Similarlyinhomeappliancessector,thevacuumrobotsDEEBOT,fromEcovacsRobotics,isalsofullycompatiblewithAmazonAlexaandGoogleHometoenablethevoicecommand.

TheraisingusecaseofvoicecontrolleduserinterfacescontributesalottotheexpansionofAItechnologyapplicationinvariouscategories. TherearenowfivetimesmoreAlexa-compatiblesmartdevicesthanattheendof2017,coveringPC,smarthomeappliances,headphones,speakersetc.AtIFA,thereareatleast70devicemakershaveintegratedAlexa,suchasHuaweiforitsAICubesmartspeakerandBoschforitsconnectedhomesystem.

Connectivity

IFA-Haier

Anotherthingtonotice,isthatSiemens,Bosch,Samsung,Haier…whichevermajordomesticappliancesbrandthatyoucanname,arededicatedtoshowcasetheirlatesttechniquesolutionsforconnectedhomethistimeatIFA.

TakeSiemensasanexample.WiththeirHomeConnectedApponthemobiledevices,theuserscancontrol,monitorandcallforremotediagnoseforalltheirwifi-enabledSiemensappliancesathomewhenevertheywantandwherevertheyare.HaierandHisense,ontheotherhand,providesanotherscenariosofenablingthecentralisedcontrolofhomeinterconnectionviaTVset.SamsungandBosch,meanwhile,bothintroducedconnectedmobilitytoopenupmorepossibilitiesofinterconnectednesscoveringallaspectsofourdailyactivities.

Moreover,whenconnectivitymeetsAIandcloud,itwillbenotjustvoiceassistanceanddatastorage,butevensmarterandmoremultifacetedproductstodeliverthefunctionalitiesfarbeyondthetraditionalones,astheinterconnecteddevicescanexchangeinformationandregisterpersonaldatetosuggestandimplementimprovementsforusers’dailylifeseamlessly,aswellastheoptimisationforenergyandresourcessavingforthesociety.Thisisnotjustconnected,butmorepersonalizedandintelligent.

Theconnectivitydoesnotonlyhappentomajordomesticappliances,butalsothesmallhomeapplianceslikevacuumcleanersandaircleanersetc.AccordingtoGfK,thevalue-basedmarketshareofconnectedappliancesincreasedbyaveryconsiderable75%to1.2billioninthefirsthalfof2018.

Co-innovation

IFA-Siemens

AsDr.ChristianGöke,CEOofMesseBerlin,stated:Nowadays,thereisnocompanycaninnovatebyitsown.Weneedpartnersandalignmentstocreateanopenecosystemtosupportaperfectflowinthedailylifeandenhanceanylifestyles.Co-innovationisnotatrend,butaneed.

VeryclosetothelogicofLenovocallingonexternaldevelopersforMirageARcontentcreation,theplayersintheconsumerandhomeelectronicindustrycannolongerworkbehindtheclosedoors.Especiallyforthemajordomesticappliancesmanufactures,whoarebuildingtheplatformstoconnecteveryaspectsoflife.Theyaremoredemandingthananyoneelsetohaveaevenbroadernetworkofserviceproviderstofacilitatetheconnectedexperience.

IfwetakeacloserlookofSiemensHomeConnect,Siemensisnotstandingalone.ItbringspartnerslikeAmazonAlexa,KitchenStories,T-mobile,IFTTT,SMAandmanyotherserviceproviderstogetheronbroad,tooffervoicecontrol,contentofcookingrecipes,aswellasthemusic&lightauto-activationallwithinthesameapp.

Ontheindustrylevel,inordertoprovideconnecteddriveexperience,SamsungstartedthepartnershipwithBMW,andSiemensstartedtoworkwithAudi.ThesubeventofIFA:shiftAUTOMOTIVEisdesignedrightforthebettercommunicationbetweenthesetwoindustries,notonlyforconnectedmobility,butalsofortacklingthechallengesgeneratedbytherapid-changingtechnologyevolutionfacedbybothautomobileandconsumerelectronics.

IFA-SiemensConnectedHome

From1924to2018,IFA,thisoneoftheoldestGermanindustrialexhibitionhasquicklytransformeditselfintoashowcaseofthegloballeadingtechnologies,togetherwiththeiterationoftheindustry.After6days’ofexcitementthisyear,wehavetherightreasontoexpectasmarterlifewithendlesspossibilitiestocome.