DUBAI, 17 June 2003 — On Sept. 23, 1962, American television viewers sat down to watch a new prime time series - “The Jetsons.” This animated cartoon developed by the team at Hanna-Barbera showed the world a vision of life in 2062. It was never anticipated that “The Jetsons” would be a huge hit. However, the original 24 episodes of the series repeated for 15 years until 1984, when production began on 41 new episodes, eventually followed by another 10 episodes.
There has been a global fascination with the series, which is still regularly broadcast on satellite TV networks. The Jetsons live in Skypad Apartments and in their 21st century life, automation and robotic gadgets are common. People have never tired of watching the antics of George Jetson and his family as they talk on the video phone, give orders to their robot maid and fly about town in a vehicle that folds up into a briefcase.
In Dubai last week, LG Electronics brought “The Jetsons” a bit closer to reality through a campaign called “NeoCulture,” which focused on the launch, into the markets of the Middle East and Africa of LG’s state-of-the-art home networked products. LG is the first consumer electronics company to make networked home appliances available in the region.
According to M.B. Shin, president, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa Operations, NeoCulture is “contemporary, futuristic living — today.”
“We have reached a new horizon in the way we live our lives and a digital revolution is about to take place in our homes,” Shin explained. “The impact will be of a similar scale to that experienced when electronics products graduated from analogue to digital.” Recent studies predict that the home networking and residential gateway equipment market will reach $5.9 billion by 2004. Home networking services that deliver extra value based on these new forms of connectivity will reach over $3 billion by 2004.
“By 2005, over 100 million homes are expected to be using networked digital appliances, and LG believes a large proportion of those will be in the Middle East and Africa,” said Shin. “This is due to a combination of factors, not least the investment that’s currently being made in regional telecommunications infrastructure and the trend toward early adoption of new technology.”
The central component or hub of all communication in LG’s Home Network is the Internet refrigerator, which was shown in the region for the first time at the GITEX 2001 IT trade exhibition. Through the refrigerator, it is possible to operate and control the air conditioner, microwave and washing machine. The fridge also takes on the role of network server, enabling all the appliances to be operated from outside the home over the Internet. Memos and photos that previously were stuck to the fridge door with magnets disappear, replaced by a 15.1-inch touch-pad screen with built-in video camera. Using the refrigerator’s IT capabilities messages, photos and even video-clips can be recorded and left for other members of the household.
The touch-pad screen on the fridge door has a simple button-menu that makes tasks easy. Connection to the Internet is a breeze. Through the refrigerator’s screen users can surf the Net, send and receive e-mail, e-shop, e-bank, or in fact achieve anything at all that can be done over the Internet. Additionally, the fridge is also an entertainment center -- the screen doubles as a TV monitor with a built-in MP3 player. While the Internet refrigerator is designed to be the hub of a home LAN setup, all of LG’s home network appliances can act as stand-alone items, too, connected to the Internet through a programmable logic controller (PLC). That means that consumers can start with one or two appliances rather than buying the entire range in one go.
LG’s networked home products are connected across a LAN through its proprietary communication protocol called Living network Control Protocol (LnCP) designed for home appliances that exchange small amounts of data and require minimum control. A home’s existing electric power lines are used for network data transmission between the home appliances.
“We are working with leading software developers on standardization of home network systems and are continuously developing and upgrading our own LnCP to provide better service and operating efficiency,” said Shin. “We’re also developing a network system that integrates with major home-entertainment network solutions to meet a global standard.”
In addition to the functionality attached to linking the networked appliances together, Shin added that an Internet site has been set up by LG specifically for its networked home appliances. The website contains detailed information on LG’s current networked products range, future networking technology and links to additional LG network appliance cyber sites. It even has links to downloads of up-to-the-minute information and programs for all LG’s Internet home appliances. “The website was developed to add to the “user-friendliness” of the home network appliances and to enable LG to add value to its product range,” said Shin. “Dreamlg.com is continually updated with washing programs designed for all types of fabrics and different kinds of pollutants; microwave recipes and cooking programs for almost any meal imaginable; and airflow programs designed for different room types and climates to instantly alter the operating efficiency of an LG networked air conditioner. In addition, the website also allows us to offer software upgrade downloads for appliances as and when new features and benefits are developed.”
LG Electronics aims to lead the regional Internet digital home appliance market as well as being the global leader in home appliance design and manufacture. Over the past six years the company has invested $100 million on research into networked appliances. Shin commented that LG hopes that increasing use of networked appliances and other “smart devices” in homes would open up new markets for manufacturers, service companies, telecoms and other organizations to offer expanded services to customers.
“For example, weekly groceries can be ordered through the Internet fridge and the supermarket will deliver them,” said Shin. “This level of service will broaden as more and more sectors become aware of and embrace the ability of home network technology.”
While all this talk of new technology is interesting, it must be acknowledged that it will take years for networked appliances to become a common purchase for average families. Even LG admitted that their NeoCulture campaign is more about market education than actual sales. They were quick to emphasize however that the full range of networked products is available on an order basis across the region. Shin also stated that LG has already trained support personnel in the Middle East to handle all service requirements that might arise with the Internet appliances.
There are several issues when it comes to increasing the popularity of networked digital home appliances. The lagging services of telecoms in Saudi Arabia and other countries are reducing the manner in which the features of the Internet appliances may be exploited. For instance, right now, from outside the home, all the network functionality for the appliances, except the air conditioner, must be controlled using a computer connected to the Internet. It is not possible to use a mobile device such as a mobile telephone or PDA for the needed connectivity. In South Korea such functionality is already possible thanks to cooperation from the local telecom provider.
Internet home appliances are more expensive than standard home appliances. Hamid Malik, senior marketing manager, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa Region, pointed out that LG’s Internet home appliances provide many more features than standard home appliances. For example, LG’s Internet refrigerator is a television, Internet access appliance, MP3 player, digital camera and network server, plus a refrigerator. While these modern features are attractive, the price of the four Internet appliances together -- refrigerator, microwave, air conditioner and washer works out to about $10,000.
In Saudi Arabia it would mostly be families with high income levels who could afford Internet home appliances. In such families domestic help is very common. One might be skeptical that a large investment would be made in home appliances to be used by maids. Of all the Internet home appliances, the microwave raised the most eyebrows. An observer of the LG Internet home appliance demonstration wondered how often someone would start their microwave from the office. It is important to point out that all networked digital home appliances do have an advantage in the case of a breakdown. From a remote cyber service center, with input from the appliance’s programming, a technician could in most cases at least diagnose and sometimes even repair the malfunctioning equipment.
LG is not the only manufacturer of digital networked appliances globally and competition, mass production and evolving technology will eventually drive prices down, making the purchase of networked home appliances more feasible for average families. In the meantime, LG plans to take its Internet home appliances on tour throughout the Middle East. So look for a demonstration of the networked home of the future coming soon to a location near you.
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