Source: Wang Zhen / Yicai
(Yicai Global) March 13 -- The next move to enhance users’ experience in kitchens lies in artificial intelligence, Karsten Ottenberg, chairman of the board and chief executive of BSH Home Appliances Group, told Yicai Global at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo.
The next step in development of smart home appliances is to understand the world, Ottenberg said. “Download recipes and share experiences. We have entered the second stage, but we shall not stop there. The availability of different types of smart home appliances has also confused consumers in some way. How can we enhance users’ kitchen experience? The ultimate answer lies in artificial intelligence.”
BSH’s current task is to apply its extensive knowledge about user demand in the field of kitchen appliances to the smart era, he said. BSH offered smart products in the Chinese market last year, covering all product types and two brands -- Bosch and Siemens.
BSH is developing an interactive smart kitchen assistant, a small robot called Mykie, that allows users to voice control their smart kitchens. The company is studying projection touch, gesture remote control and other interactive technologies.
“Our goal is to create a good smart experience for the entire process from storing food and cooking to washing dishes. Users themselves choose how to exploit these functions. Future consumers will be more receptive to the concept and functions of an integrated kitchen,” Ottenberg said.
“Ensuring data security is our top priority,” Ottenberg said. Users will be willing to use smart home appliances only when data security and user privacy are ensured.
BSH is becoming more open in the smart era. China's leading home appliance makers and the China Household Electrical Appliances Association have jointly launched the first group standards on smart home appliance connectivity. BSH is the only foreign company among the initiators.
Although it is headquartered in Germany, BSH is a local Chinese firm, Ottenberg stressed. China has been BSH’s largest market since 2015.