Home » Sunday » Technology
Smart money’s on smart connections
Print Edition
WHETHER an indoor GPS-style system that helps cleaning robots keep to pre-configured routes, a mahjong table with wireless control for adjusting lighting and air purifying systems or TVs linked up to phones, smart connections were under the spotlight at China’s biggest annual home appliance show in Shanghai recently.
Industry giants — including Samsung, Sharp and Haier — showcased the latest technologies and services creating intelligent home appliances at the Appliance World Expo.
Technically speaking, behind the cool gadgets is the Internet of Things (IOT) — a system of sensors, chips and networks that come together with the aim of revolutionizing how homes and businesses are run.
Through these, computing capability and connectivity is built into devices and machinery that previously stood alone.
“Mobile Internet applications with smart connections — such as air conditioners and refrigerators controlled by smart phones — are hot features in home appliances in China,” said Luo Qiao, China analyst for research firm GFK.
“This meets demands of new-generation consumers and helps vendors improve profit engines,” Luo added.
Globally, cars have been turned into networks of sensors and minicomputers covering everything from access to iTunes libraries or stopping the vehicle if the brakes aren’t hit early enough.
And everyday devices such as thermostats and electricity meters are being linked to the Internet, requiring processors to analyze data and transmit or receive instructions.
Even the humble fork has now become smart, capable of analyzing how fast you eat so you can slow down to lose weight or ease digestion.
Google Inc’s US$3.2 billion acquisition earlier this year of Nest — a connected devices company best known for a smart home thermostat — illustrated how smart is big business.
Meanwhile, Honeywell, which used to focus on industrial products for jumbo jets and cars, aims to expand to the consumer sector along the themes of the smart city and smart home.
Honeywell sees opportunities in home appliances connected by wifi and controlled by smart phones, covering home security, smoke and gas detectors, lighting and curtain controls, air conditioning and air purifying.
“We have found plenty of business opportunities in China, including smart cities, medical use, high-end real estate and environmental improvement,” said Stephen Shang, Honeywell China’s president and chief executive.
The government and regulators also see opportunities in the IOT to fuel development and improve the structure of China’s economy.
Revenue from the IOT in China was 500 billion yuan (US$82.4 billion) in 2013, up 37 percent year on year, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In Shanghai, IOT revenue hit 100 billion yuan last year.
Home appliance giant Samsung, which recently had more than 16 percent of the TV market share in China, expects smart connections and ultra-high definition (UHD) to be the two biggest trends in the TV market.
At the Appliance World Expo, the South Korea-based firm displayed the latest TVs with connection to its smart phones, supporting video and picture sharing and game playing.
US-based iRobot, which was founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists, displayed cleaning robots for the home with a GPS navigation system which builds a map of the area, mapping walls, obstacles and drop-offs as it encounters them.
Chinese firms displaying smart gadgets included industry giants such as Haier and Meiling. Devices on show included a refrigerator with picture recognition technology and wine storage machines with temperature sensors and touch screens.
Meanwhile, a Treyo mahjong table perfectly epitomized the meeting of Chinese demand and high technologies. It supports connection with lighting and air conditioner systems and iPad control.
More than 500 exhibitors attended the show held in the Shanghai New International Expo Center ended on Friday.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
