LG unveils ThinQ A.I., CLOi, service robots and OLED TVs at CES
Las Vegas, Nev. — LG’s Chief Technologist I.P. Park broke into the company’s 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) press conference with the introduction of its global artificial intelligence (A.I.) brand LG ThinQ. The unveiling was part of a wider initiative by the company to develop autonomous homes leveraging A.I. and service robots.
The purpose of ThinQ is to use A.I. to take advantage of everyday products as a seamless user experience. Among the chief characteristics of ThinQ include the ability to evolve with time, integrate A.I. into a diverse portfolio of everyday products and openness. According to Park, incorporating ThinQ into its devices would “completely change the way we use products.”
The company also noted it is working with Google and Amazon on A.I. as part of an open partnership model. Vice President of Engineering for Google Assistant Scott Huffman then took the stage to discuss the collaboration between the two companies.
“Our collaboration with LG, which began on phones, has continued over the last year and a half,” said Huffman. “Because of LG’s breadth of products, we’ve been able to work together on all kinds of devices including LG watches, OLED TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, ovens, air conditioners and more.”
LG also introduced a digital assistant named CLOi, which helps users control smart devices. The robot is supposed to respond accurately to voice commands and enquiries. The point of bringing CLOi on stage was to demonstrate how it could improve the use of smart devices in the kitchen. Unfortunately for LG, CLOi suffered an episode of stage fright. While the robot was able to greet and correctly answer a question posed by LG’s Vice President of US Marketing David VanderWaal, it failed to respond to requests three times during the presentation. “Even robots have bad days,” VanderWaal said.
LG also premiered three new service robots, including a serving robot, a porter robot and a shopping cart robot. The company debuted its newest portfolio of premium TVs as well. The nine new 4K LG AI OLED TVs come in a variety of configurations and sizes, ranging from 55- to 77-inches. The company said that 2018 LG TVs will support 120 frames per second.
