LG Electronics is showcasing its smart life solutions at CES 2024, including the transparent and wireless 4K LG SIGNATURE OLED TV, a smart home powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and communication technologies and the mobility concept Alpha-able.
The heart of LG’s booth is the world’s first transparent and wireless 4K OLED TV, the LG SIGNATURE OLED T. Visitors are greeted by a huge media art display created by combining 15 77-inch OLED Ts, showcasing video content with perfect black levels and vibrant colours.
These displays gradually transform into a transparent OLED TV, revealing a new era uncovered by OLED T. The floating appearance of the OLED TVs emphasises the wireless transmission of video and audio signals and connection to external devices, simplifying installation and providing more freedom in interior design.
A dedicated zone highlights the LG SIGNATURE OLED T’s transparent and wireless technology, which allows the TV to exceed the constraints of space and blend into everyday life.
Moving on to the next zone, visitors encounter a tunnel structure featuring over 140 55-inch OLED displays. Powered by LG’s webOS, this tunnel serves as a platform to showcase an extensive range of content, curated through collaborations with diverse partners.
Each display within the tunnel is thoughtfully arranged to present a variety of webOS content, including movies, music and games. This immersive experience invites visitors to explore and indulge in the world of webOS, offering a captivating and interactive journey.
In the smart home exhibition zone, LG presents how AI technology can enhance its future smart life solutions. The company’s AI-powered smart home utilises various sensors to not only digitise people’s lives but also proactively detect needs as well as propose tailored solutions based on customer’s words, actions and even emotions.
For example, the non-contact sensors installed in the house can measure and digitise customers’ heart and breathing rate, diagnosing their health status to automatically adjust the indoor temperature and humidity.
In the future smart home, LG ThinQ will connect sensors and IoT devices installed throughout the home, acting as a service platform that autonomously controls the devices to ensure ideal settings without the need for customer intervention.
If, perhaps, a customer brings home a new pet cat, the microphones, cameras and mmWave sensors embedded in household devices detect the furry friend’s presence, automatically downloading ‘pet mode’ on LG ThinQ UP home appliances or recommending accessory kits specifically for pets.
Additionally, the sensors even prioritise energy efficiency by switching smart products in unoccupied rooms to power-saving mode or turning them off when no one is home. The sensors can even activate crime prevention mode, sending notifications through the LG ThinQ app if any unusual activity is detected.
The zone also introduces the newly unveiled smart home AI agent, which moves on its own two wheels to welcome visitors. This AI agent serves as a versatile household assistant and a smart hub, offering comprehensive support in customers’ daily lives by connecting and managing household appliances and IoT devices.
Equipped with a camera, speaker and a range of home monitoring sensors, it can gather real-time data of the home environment to facilitate appliance control. Its front display allows for expressive facial expressions, actively engaging and communicating with customers.
The commercial zone showcases a variety of customised services connected under the theme of travelling throughout Las Vegas. For instance, the zone recreates scenarios where valuable information regarding nearby landmarks is delivered through the 86-inch signage and 55-inch OLED window on a monorail. Other scenarios include customers receiving guidance from the GuideBot at a hotel or making payments through facial recognition at a cafe.
Going beyond the home, LG recently redefined future cars as a “personalised digital cave”. To demonstrate this concept, the company established a dedicated zone featuring Alpha-able within its exhibition space. Alpha-able serves as a tangible representation of LG’s mobility vision, offering passengers a preview of the innovative solutions they can expect to experience in the future mobility environment. The future mobility concept aims to deliver unique customer experiences based on three themes: Transformable, Explorable and Relaxable.
Alpha-able utilises cutting-edge display technologies, including rollable, flexible and transparent displays, along with LG’s home appliance technologies and solutions, to provide ‘Transformable’ experiences that adapt to passengers’ needs. Additionally, Alpha-able offers ‘Explorable experiences’ by delivering tailored information and content for unique situations, as well as ‘Relaxable experiences’ for passengers to unwind and enjoy some personal time.
In addition to Alpha-able, LG has also dedicated a zone to showcase its electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, a key growth area for the company. This zone highlights LG’s EV charger and control solution called e-Centric.
LG also unveiled new products developed under LG Labs, the company’s new project that encompasses products, services and marketing activities based on experimental ideas and creative concepts from both inside and outside the company.
The LG Labs zone showcases a range of innovative products, including DukeBox by LG Labs, the all-in-one audio device seeking to reinvent the depth of audio and video experience with a modernised jukebox concept; DUOBO by LG Labs, a capsule coffee machine that extracts two flavours at once, and Bon Voyage by LG Labs, a customised living space designed to extend the life quality at home to nature.
In addition, the zone includes products like LG CineBeam Qube and brid.zzz by LG Labs, which offer innovative approaches designed to elevate the customer experience.
The company also set up the Better Life for All zone, dedicated to highlighting its efforts in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. The zone features various home appliances made with recycled plastics, including the LG tiiun mini, a smart indoor gardening appliance, LG PuriCare AeroFurniture, a portable air purifier that doubles as a side table and mood lamp and LG Styler ShoeCase and ShoeCare, devices that provide shoe care solutions.
The zone also illustrates the company’s sustainable home solutions with energy and hot water diagrams, and features LG mycup – a tumbler washer introduced for the first time at CES.
A ‘Universal UP Kit’ accessory that supports the convenient use of all of LG’s home appliances is also ready to be experienced at the zone, while accessibility is also emphasised through TV accessibility experiences.
Visitors can experience LG’s latest innovations at its CES booth #16008 at the Las Vegas Convention Center) from January 9-12.
MONTREAL – Lightspeed Commerce Inc. says it is conducting a review of its business and operations including talks relating to a range of potential strategic alternatives.
The Montreal-based payments technology company made the comments after reports concerning a potential transaction involving the company.
Lightspeed says it periodically undertakes a review of its business and operations with a view of realizing its full potential.
A strategic review is often seen by investors as a prelude to a sale by a company.
Lightspeed says its board of directors is committed to acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.
Company founder Dax Dasilva returned to the role of chief executive officer earlier this year and has been working to return the company to profitability.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says there is a lot of uncertainty around how artificial intelligence could affect the economy moving forward, including the labour market and price growth.
In a speech in Toronto at the Economics of Artificial Intelligence Conference, the governor said Friday that the central bank is approaching the issue cautiously to get a better understanding of how AI could affect its job of keeping inflation low and stable.
“Be wary of anyone who claims to know where AI will take us. There is too much uncertainty to be confident,” Macklem said in prepared remarks.
“We don’t know how quickly AI will continue to advance. And we don’t know the timing and extent of its economic and social impacts.”
The governor said AI has the potential of increasing labour productivity, which would raise living standards and grow the economy without boosting inflation.
In the short-term, he said investment in AI is adding to demand and could be inflationary.
However, Macklem also highlighted more pessimistic scenarios, where AI could destroy more jobs than it creates or lead to less competition rather than more.
The governor called on academics and businesses to work together to shed more light on the potential effects of AI on the economy.
“When you enter a dark room, you don’t go charging in. You cautiously feel your way around. And you try to find the light switch. That is what we are doing. What we central bankers need is more light,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
