The technological revolution in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are accelerating at breakthrough speeds. These technologies are integrating with multiple e-products and services that power and add comfort to our lives. By combining technologies, one is able to create new products with even higher value to consumers everywhere.

AI-Powered Consumer Electronics

Many organizations have already picked up on this. The CES 2017 Show was evident of this trend. The big trend this year was definitely AI powering numerous consumer products, or augmenting the capabilities of connected products and smart appliances. Amazon was leading the fray, announcing several partnerships with manufacturers to connect Alexa with a wide array of consumer products ranging from smart light bulbs to loudspeakers, and even sprinklers. Google has made several moves with its Google Home and Google Assistant competing directly with Amazon in this space. Other players are far behind.

With more industry leaders incorporating AI and IoT, it is interesting to imagine what other consumer electronics devices might benefit from combining the virtues of IoT and AI that have not been touched yet. Of course, most electronic devices have already gone through this evolution: from smartphones and computers, to alarm clocks and toys, the evidence associating AI to IoT in consumer electronics everywhere is overwhelming.

The Era of Machine Learning and Electronics

So what is next: digital cameras that use machine learning to input settings and wait until the right time to always take the perfect picture, and upload the results directly to Instagram and Twitter; or an audiophile’s dream of a sound speaker that always projects songs with the personal settings that they prefer, and that is adjusted based on the genre of song through deep learning (and then post their settings online to compete with other audiophiles on who has the best settings)?

The possibilities are endless.  In order to be able to continuously develop new products that appeal to an ever-evolving consumer, organizations need to develop core competencies within both of these fields. Relying on just one of these competencies (AI or IoT) may help in the short to midterm, but the value that can be created by combining both is exponentially higher, and will soon be a necessity for most products in the longterm.

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