Home Appliances Producers Compete to Take Lead in AI Technology

Heralding the era of the fourth Industrial Revolution, home appliances producers are introducing artificial intelligence (AI) technology in their products in earnest. This is because the AI technology is a must to dominate the smart home ecosystem, which links all home appliances, in advance.

According to industry sources on May 18, Samsung Electronics has installed its own AI platform “Bixby” in its home appliances, while LG Electronics has applied Google’s AI service “Google Assistant” to its products, accelerating the establishment of the smart home ecosystem.

Samsung Electronics has added its Bixby AI assistant to the Family Hub 2.0 fridge for the first time and will apply the system to other home appliances such as air conditioners and QLED TV. Previously, Harman Kardon, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, also launched the Invoke, an AI speaker powered by Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant.

Samsung Electronics basically plans to introduce Bixby's voice recognition abilities in its products. Based on it, the company will secure the competitiveness in the smart home market in where other IT giants such as Google and Amazon are joining. 

LG Electronics has entered the limitless race on the same day by applying AI services to its home appliances, joining hands with Google. The company unveiled smart home products that can be linked to Google’s AI speaker “Google Home.” Earlier, LG Electronics added Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant technology to its home appliances.

Starting with LG Signature, its premium home appliance lineup including refrigerators, washing machines, humidifiers and air cleaners, the company plans to expand its services connected with Google Home this year. It will apply the services to other smart products, like air conditioners, ovens, drying machines and robotic vacuum cleaners, in the future, differentiating its smart home solution strategy.

Overseas home appliance manufacturers are also actively using the AI technology on their products. GE Appliances, which was acquired by the Chinese electronics group Haier last year, will cooperate with Google to connect its all appliances with Google’s voice recognition technology “Google Assistant.” The company has already introduced Amazon’s voice recognition technology in its products. China’s Midea Group has also installed service that can link to the DingDong voice-controlled speaker.

With the latest move, home appliance producers are seeking to create the smart home market based on home appliances. However, some pointed out that the AI technologies introduced by domestic home appliance companies have limits in terms of utility since there are not enough data. Accordingly, the companies are focusing on expanding the ecosystem by forming partnerships.

An official from the industry said, “Who will install the AI technology in home appliances and release high quality of services first is the key to take the leadership in the market. Many companies will increasingly establish partnerships to advance AI technologies by converging their strengths.”