INSPIRATION

LG IFA 2018 Keynote speech: Evolve, Connect & Open with AI innovation

By V. KELLER

LG returns to IFA with a mission: to showcase their AI innovations, and set forward their vision for a bright and intelligent future.

At IFA 2018, LG opened their exhibition with their vision for an AI-driven future. With so many products on the market claiming to be at the forefront of AI technology, what makes LG different? Introduced by CEO Seong-jin Jo, CTO Dr IP. Park was on hand to explain.

On LG’s vision for the future of AI, he said: “What we have ahead of us is not just an improvement on our existing products. There is little doubt that AI will bring a fundamental change not only in the very nature of what we make but also in how we shape and live our lives.”

He boiled LG’s standard for artificial intelligence down to three words: “Evolve, Connect and Open. With these three simple ideas, we will begin a new chapter in LG’s journey of delivering innovation for a better life.”

On the importance of evolving AI innovations for a better future, Park insists this is a minimum requirement for LG to remain a leader in their field. And after 60 years in business they know how to stay relevant. “The age of artificial intelligence allows us to go even further. Information will now get better, richer, and deeper with usage and time."

Throughout his speech, he used the examples of CLOi, and a wearable robot which LG are developing with SG Robotics to assist with walking, to show the progress LG is making with their evolving AI projects.

“Just think about what we can do with this kind of AI-enabled empowerment. Now we start with helping those who find it difficult to walk, but these robots could also find industrial applications where they improve productivity, monitor performance and prevent injuries.”

On becoming connectable throughout the household and beyond, Park recounted the recent story of the thief-capturing vacuum cleaner as an example of products moving beyond their initial functions to help us more.

“LG’s robot vacuum cleaner made headlines in Israel this May for stopping a break-in. The Home-bot had what we call ‘home guard’ function which detects motion, takes photos and sends them to the user’s phone.

“In this case, the burglar ran away as soon as he heard the Hom-Bot clicking away to take photos. The owner was at work when he received these footages on his phone and called the police.

“You have to ask, what if it could connect with other devices? Could we have prevented the break-in in the first place? What else could it do? You see, with just one connected AI device, we’re already creating an infinite potential.”

On LG’s connectivity goals, Park explained that LG is leading the global telematics market with next generation 5G technology, which will help you connect no matter where you are: “We aim to provide connectivity regardless of distance, even when you’re on the move.

“So when you get home from work, you’ll have air conditioning set at just the right temperature, oven pre-heated for your recipe of choice, and laundry done and dried!"

On creating an eco-system to achieve openness, LG are looking beyond their own products to create a better world. “The world has become far too complex and far too diverse for any one company to be able to meet all the different demands of our customers,” Park said. “Our philosophy is to provide the best AI experience, whether it comes from our own or from an external partner’s solution.

“LG’s latest offering for this open eco-system of partnerships is webOS, our operating system for smart products. We decided to open-source because we believe that webOS is great,and it can be even greater as an open platform.

“It works well with our own ThinQ AI platform as well as Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and OCF specifications, which means it is compatible with products from hundreds of other brands.

“webOS can also connect with other platforms like robots and connected or driverless cars. So we can use it to integrate all those different services.”

On the topic of openness, Park had a demonstrator showcase just how useful it can be when different products work together for a common goal. The demonstrator could complete tasks like viewing photos and videos through voice command, as well as finding directions in Berlin. This was made possible through the LG OLED TV, which runs on webOS, and the a9 chip and AI technology.

On the future for LG, Park believes success is about moving beyond limitations and working together to improve lives. “The idea is to focus on giving our customers what they deserve – the best possible experience. For them, who does it is secondary.

“Through open platform, open partnership, and open connectivity, we’ll be able to overcome our own limitations and give only the very best of AI technology to our customers.”