LG unveils future home life at IFA 2020 amid Covid-19

Under the theme of "Life's Good from Home," LG Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Park Il-Pyung presented the vision that maximizes three core home values -- care, convenience and entertainment -- at the company's press conference for Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) 2020, reports Yonhap news agency.

"These unprecedented times have made us more uncertain about the future," said Park who took the stage in hologram form. LG believes this presents a unique opportunity to make real change in the world by realizing a new potential for home."

At the conference, Park vowed that LG's Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform, LG ThinQ will continue to deliver innovative services and new business models to lead the change.

The LG ThinQ app will deliver a user-centric experience that extends from customer support to purchasing supplies, the company said. Last year, the company started the Proactive Customer Care (PCC) service with the app which analyzes the operational status of appliances and provides maintenance advice with AI technology.

It plans to more than double the number of appliances and service items compatible with the LG ThinQ app while introducing the care service to other markets, LG added.

"This pandemic has brought so many people to the online economy," Park said.

"To make real use of this opportunity we need to start thinking of all our devices and appliances as a connected platform."

Park also explained that LG's CLOi line of robots will provide a "safe, socially- distant way" to offer services in various sectors. LG CLOi ServeBots have already been deployed in commercial locations in South Korea since July.

The CTO emphasized that with the open-source Robot Operating System (ROS) 2, LG's CLOi line of robots could serve as "an efficient substitute for human interaction" as the company targets to expand the robot ecosystem.

Park revealed that LG is also developing technology for remote healthcare management, adding the company recently administered a pilot project with a Seoul hospital to enhance monitoring and care of patients with chronic conditions.

"Through AI, we can easily and more precisely monitor the health of consumers 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Park said.

Regarding its products to fight the virus, Park introduced LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, a mask with air filter and light fans to assist breathing and a smart thermal camera which can read temperature and identify people with face recognition using its AI technology.

Also at the conference, LG unveiled the LG ThinQ Home, an actual house that LG built in Pangyo, south of Seoul to show its latest smart home solutions.

Park introduced LG ThinQ Home Concierge, a smart mirror that allow users to monitor conditions of home appliances and check home energy usage. The high-tech panel is also connected to the home's electric car charging station which enables homeowners to charge and monitor their electric cars remotely.

LG has not set up an offline exhibition area at this year's IFA in Berlin, Germany due to the novel coronavirus concerns. Instead, the company decided to open a 3D virtual exhibition booth and the LG ThinQ Home to showcase its latest products and technologies.