Panasonic Smart Concepts at IFA 2017

At the international exhibition IFA 2017 in Berlin, Panasonic Corporation presented product concepts that use artificial intelligence, robotic technology and connected services.

Panasonic smart concepts at IFA 2017

Kitchen advisor with artificial intelligence

It’s a real brain of a smart kitchen, able to connect and give commands to cooking gadgets. The software was developed by Panasonic experts together with leading culinary institutes, chefs, nutritionists and service providers.

The kitchen assistant not only advises the user the recipes, necessary products and technology of cooking, it can “command” the smart fridge – to check the availability of necessary products and order the missing ones in an online store or delivery service, the oven – at the right time to heat up to the correct temperature and maintain it as long as necessary, etc.d. Touch technology and automation system help even novice cooks cook like a professional chef.

The product is currently at the concept stage, but could be refined into a finished solution within 3-5 years.

Touch screen fridge with voice-activated “autopilot

Whether you’re having dinner with friends on the veranda or just too lazy to get up from the couch to go to the kitchen for food or drinks? Don’t be distracted, the smart fridge will bring you everything you need! It moves quickly, quietly and carefully, without crashing into children or pets along the way. If to ask, the smart fridge will even throw dirty ware to the dishwasher – just put it on the cover of smart device.

The concept device boasts a built-in system of simultaneous localization and mapping SLAM – simultaneous localization and mapping , as well as autopilot and self-pilot technology. The latter allows the refrigerator to study its surroundings and create internal “area maps”, following which it can seamlessly without crashing into obstacles and rounding corners move around the house or apartment. The smart device can calculate the exact distance to objects and obstacles using LIDAR Laser imaging detection and ranging technology and ultrasonic sensors. Panasonic technologies are widely used in car industry.

The companion robot

Video review: watch?v=Qstdnlxpadc&feature=youtu.be

Your child is bored or refusing healthy but uninteresting food again? Panasonic’s robot companion will agree with him!

This device is specially designed for children from 3 to 6 years old. In appearance, it resembles the main character of the American fairy tale “Kolobok”, although the Japanese developers, of course, did not read it. Absolutely spherical robot-doll moves on the principle of a geroscooter with quite an impressive speed – up to 1 m/s. Thanks to speech recognition technology, Internet connectivity and a built-in camera, the device can communicate and self-educate by analyzing all incoming requests and connections to relevant external resources health services, education, etc. .d. .

The robot bell is controlled from a smartphone via an app. Mom, for example, can choose a product that the baby does not like, and the robot will analyze the available information and load the necessary “match” from the network. Then, using stories and interesting examples, it will try to change the obstinate little one’s mind – if not to like healthy foods, then at least to try them.

The robot companion can also take pictures of interlocutors, so parents can see how their child is feeling and can share photos with friends and family. In the future, the range of services available to the companion robot can become very wide.

The smart bucket for sake and wine

Video review: watch?time_continue=1&v=A7f5GLeJzEg

It is enough to put a bottle inside the device and it will scan the label and get information about this drink from the Internet. Besides, the clever bucket will cool the drink and will keep the necessary temperature, will recommend a main dish or an appetizer with which it is better to consume the chosen alcohol.

A robot closet for clothes care

Video review: watch?v=dc_qWtjZYZU

It’s not just a cabinet with a steam generator! It’s a clever device that helps take care of clothes while keeping them looking good. It looks like a stylish cabinet – without a single button, responsive to touch. Just put a dirty thing in a drawer and watch the process unfold. First, the system will scan the item of clothing, determining its size, fabric type and degree of soiling. If an item has tags on it, the smart closet will contact the manufacturer’s online database and get more accurate information about fabric composition, cleaning mode, etc. The item will then be uniformly treated with a cleaning compound at the right concentration, especially in the dirty areas. The next step is drying and smoothing. A neatly folded item can be picked up from a drawer. Such a device could hit the market in 7-10 years.

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According to research firm IHS Markit, about 80 million smart home devices were sold globally in 2016, up 64% from the previous year. Clearly, this growth will continue, and in 2017 sales could reach 130 million. pieces.

Over the past three years, Japan’s Panasonic Corporation has invested about six percent of its global profits in development and research – especially in the areas of robotics and connected devices. Between April 2016 and March 2019, the corporation intends to invest 1 trillion yen about 8 billion euros in mergers and acquisitions that will expand its product portfolio. Panasonic already cooperates with such technological giants as Amazon, Google and Watson IBM in the field of process automation.

Panasonic began developing artificial intelligence back in the 1980s as part of the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s 5th Generation Computer Project. Even then, Panasonic began producing “electronics for people,” improving lives through computing technology. Panasonic’s audio and video expertise has come in handy for creating image analysis and natural language technologies. At the same time, the company initiated research in the field of image-based object recognition, interactive systems they were used, among other things, to prepare English-language contract documents , machine translation, etc.d. The 1990s saw the introduction of washing machines that could “see” dirt on clothes by themselves, and the 2000s were a real digitalization boom. Panasonic began taking its first steps in robotics, creating electronic assistants and companions for humans.

Today, Panasonic’s smart product portfolio includes sensor-based safety solutions as well as driver assistance systems DAS . The company is developing the Internet of Things, robotics, and is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sensors and devices.