At a panel talk event to kick off IFA 2019 in Berlin, Dr. I.P. Park, president and Chief Technology Officer of LG Electronics, shared the company’s vision for an AI-powered future where Anywhere is Home. Addressing the three pillars of LG’s AI strategy Evolve, Connect and Open, Dr. Park and the expert guest panelists discussed how innovations in AI and connectivity will expand the notion of home to every domain of living beyond the front door.
At the heart of today’s discussion was the role of LG ThinQ, the company’s brand for intelligent devices, which now brings together AI products and services as well as those with Wi-Fi and IoT capabilities under a unified vision for an AI-based ecosystem. To illustrate the evolution of LG ThinQ, Dr. Park introduced a intelligent learning concept which enables robot vacuum cleaners to avoid getting stuck in corners and obstacles. Facilitating such innovations will be LG’s proprietary AI chip for appliances, launched earlier this year, which uses LG Neural Engine for on-device AI.
At the same time, in order to connect more digital touchpoints in consumers’ lives, LG is researching ways to diversify the modes of user-device interaction beyond voice recognition. This encompasses innovations such as the add-on vision intelligence module Vision Pack, a vision sensor connected to the cloud. Dr. Park demonstrated the LG Styler with Vision Pack that can visually recognize items of clothing and make recommendations accordingly. Dr. Park also introduced LG ThinQ Fit, an evolution of the Smart Mirror concept where 3D cameras accurately measure the user’s body size to generate a realistic avatar for virtual fittings.
Dr. Park highlighted the importance of openness in terms of partnership and collaboration. LG’s investment in opening up its platforms to others is key to broader compatibility and diversity of innovation. Consistent with this philosophy, LG recently made the LG ThinQ platform (http://deepthinq.developer.lge.com) available to external partners and developers to accelerate the development of its AI technology.
Dr. Park’s panel of guests included luminaries from all corners of the tech sector who engaged in an in-depth exploration of AI technology, its development, and how it can be applied to improve the quality of life. Guest speakers included Dino Flore, vice president of technology at Qualcomm responsible for the company’s 5G strategy across EMEA; Maurice Conti, a renowned futurist and Chief Innovation Officer of Telefonica’s moonshot factory Alpha, and Ralph Wiegmann, CEO of iF International Forum Design.
“Evolve, Connect and Open are our standards for a kind of AI which will make life measurably better,” said Dr. I.P. Park of LG. “It’s not just about improving what we’re doing now, but fundamentally transforming how we live and think.”
“We’re fortunate to have LG addressing again one of the most important developments in consumer technology,” said Jens Heithecker, Messe Berlin Group executive vice president and IFA executive director. “The IFA audience is incredibly interested in all things AI and it’s important that they understand what’s down the road from one of AI’s strongest advocates.”