Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2022 40 I t's well known that smart speakers recognize voices and can distinguish between different voices, so it really wasn't a big surprise when it became possible to control appliances with voice. What is a really big surprise is that computer vision – also known as image recognition – can now control appliances. I had a conversation recently with Shawn Stover, vice president of SmartHome Solutions at GE Appliances (GEA), about the company's partnership with Google Cloud and how it changes things for the kitchen industry. INTERACTING WITH SMART APPLIANCES When I expressed curiosity about what GEA expected to get out of the partnership with Google Cloud, Stover described customer experiences that would be more like those we have with our smartphones – seamless and intuitive. For example, the process of roasting a chicken typically starts by looking up a recipe, setting the oven to bake at a certain temperature, putting the chicken in the oven and then taking it out when the timer goes off. Compare this to popping a chicken in the oven, and then the camera inside sees that it's a chicken, cooks it perfectly at the set temperature and then turns the oven temperature down or off. Artificial intelligence (AI) automates the task. Additionally, appliance software updates will happen just like smartphone updates, and our appliances will get improved functions and all-new ones, too. This past April, GEA sent software wirelessly to 200,000 owners of their ovens, adding air fry capabilities. Computer vision will make controlling appliances easier by cutting down on the use of touch pads and knobs. Kitchen designers will be able to use this groundbreaking new technology to help clients design and build their kitchen for today's and tomorrow's lifestyles. GETTING PERSONAL Data is a key to AI. Among the things that can be recorded with online connections are service calls for the appliance, its usage, our interactions with appliances and an appliance's interactions with others – like a cook surface automatically telling a hood vent to turn on. I'd love to know how many times a client has opened their refrigerator per day, the meals they cooked, and where the cook goes next after getting something out of the refrigerator – it's likely an often-used traffic pattern that could help determine a new design. The travel patterns of a person who bakes a lot probably aren't the same as those of a person who makes a lot of salad. This kind of Scott Koehler Appliance Trends ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS EMPOWERING APPLIANCES TO SAVE US TIME AND TAKE OVER REPETITIVE TASKS

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