Take technology and connected things home to use them without even realizing it. This is the strategy deployed by Haier for several years to reach 100% of its connected products in the market. However, many studies have shown that after six months, almost 50% of connected home appliances were no longer used for these new features, which were supposed to provide substantial convenience to consumers.
Yannick Fierling, president of Haier Europe, acknowledges that it is necessary above all to get rid of the idea that home connectivity was just a gadget. “We always paid for the logo in the form of WiFi, which for a long time symbolized connectivity, but didn’t really mean anything,” he laments to Tech & Co.
“Connectivity for connectivity’s sake has no value”
According to him, we should not talk about the connectivity of the objects, but about the general experience of the user, about the scenarios in the house. “We look for the scenario that provides added value for the person. With artificial intelligence, we can adapt this scenario and manage a tailor-made solution”, congratulates the European head of a brand that wants to become number one in the world. connected home.
The group, which is already number one in Europe, already has six million consumers who have opted for one of the brand’s connected household appliances and use it through the internal hOn application. This is at the heart of the strategy and it can control everything, both Haier and Hoover, Rosières or Candy brand products, three other brands in the group.
A very large team is also working to perfect the application in Europe, which is not the same as the one implemented in Asia (Haier’s parent company) or in the United States. “Connectivity for connectivity’s sake has no value. What matters is the scenario in which we can develop each room in the house, in its image, so that everything works synergistically and intelligently.”
Technology, advice and customization
And among the novelties of this impulse, there is an oven that benefits from Bionicook technology, and in particular Bionic Vision, materialized by a camera placed on the interior door. She’ll keep an eye on your food for you without you having to open the door, send notifications if needed, and offer real-time tracking.
But it also goes much further by being able to identify the raw food or the dish just put in the oven. Whether it’s meat, croissants, carrots, or pizza, the camera’s AI identifies the item and can then recommend cooking time and temperature, mark steps along the way through the app, and indicate when it’s all done. Haier also specifies that its AI will be able to understand if you prefer your food a little more or a little less cooked.
After several modifications on your part, the oven algorithm will adapt accordingly to perfect its cooking proposal according to your tastes and habits. It is no longer a question of having a dish that is overcooked or undercooked and, above all, there is no chance (usually) of it burning. The oven will have warned you as soon as the dough or meat begins to brown.
A washing machine in printer mode
Many ID series ovens will soon be equipped with this technology. This capacity for innovation in use can also be found in the Washpass connected washing machine.
With the latter, Haier has opted for a philosophy similar to that applied to printing presses. Because behind this rather conventional washing machine is a very stupid idea: to save energy and money – the other two Haier mantras – the washing machine has tanks for different detergent products.
By indicating what type of laundry is in the drum, the weight and the temperature, the AI will adjust the dose of the different detergents and find the right balance to limit the amount of water to what is necessary and optimize the duration. of the wash. And the app will know when to recommend when levels are low. The hOn app can also, with a simple photo of the laundry, indicate the recommended program and know when to start the washing machine to limit energy costs.
“We have all suffered from the explosion in energy costs in recent months,” stresses Yannick Fierling. “We started looking for solutions and working with energy providers all over Europe to do everything possible to have the lowest possible electricity bill at the end of the month: the installation of solar panels on the roof, batteries or heat pumps that will feed the refrigerator or dishwasher and will reduce your energy consumption as much as possible”.
Growing consumer adoption
Like other brands, such as Samsung, Hisense and many others, the consumer is beginning to be receptive to technological additions to machines and no longer see them as mere gimmicks.
There are still two or three things to do to move to a 100% connected and useful home: inject more artificial intelligence to personalize the uses of consumer devices and advise them so that home equipment interacts even better.
It is also a way of being close to the group with household appliances of all brands, from the premium Haier to the youthful image of Candy, through Rosières’ capital of sympathy for the kitchen or the well-known seriousness of Hoover for cleaning. A single hOn application that communicates “as a family”. Because in the group we are not really talking about a connected home in the broad sense, with gateways to the rest of the usual home automation objects or additions of voice assistants in abundance.
“We want to focus on what we know how to do, offering remote updates to our devices to increase their durability, and not just the latest ones. We want our app to be at the center of everything to make life easier for consumers. They will also find it easier to just have one with real added value”, smiles Yannick Fierling, recalling that the data security of the 30 million European customers remains a very high priority for Haier. And for that it is better to centralize everything.
Source: BFM TV
