Dear friends, do you know about IoT?
IoT stands for Internet of Things.
If this is your first time hearing it, you might feel a bit awkward, similar to when you first learned that VIP stands for Very Important Person…
However, its Chinese name is very meaningful, called 物联网 (Wùliàngwǎng).
Actually, I think this is not a new concept; it is more of a “rebirth” of an old concept.
The essence of the Internet of Things is still the Internet, or rather, a derivative of the Internet.
The Internet we usually refer to is a network of computers connected as terminals.
The Internet of Things refers to a network of electronic devices connected beyond just computers.
You see, this concept is really not new, but unfortunately, due to limited technology in the past, what was produced were merely some icing on the cake smart products.
However, I attended the Xiaomi AIoT Developer Conference the day before yesterday and felt that the IoT field might be about to change dramatically.
Xiaomi’s approach is to combine AI and IoT, truly endowing the Internet of Things with “intelligence”.
Previously mentioned, many so-called smart products were merely icing on the cake.
For example, using a smart speaker to control the lights in your home often leads to the following problem:
You finish watching TV in the living room and plan to turn off the lights to go to the bedroom, so you tell the smart speaker to “turn off the lights,” and then…
It doesn’t know which light you want to turn off because most people have many lights in their homes; a considerate speaker might ask you which light to turn off.
A more blunt one might read off a list: “Do you want to turn off the floor lamp, the ceiling light, the kitchen stove light, or the bedside lamp in the bedroom?”…
Half a minute has passed, and it still hasn’t finished; you’ve used that time to walk to the door, put away the middle finger you just pointed at the speaker, and pressed the light switch…
Or you have to articulate your command clearly: “Turn off the ceiling light in the living room.”
Both “living room” and “ceiling light” are essential.
Have you noticed? The “icing on the cake” type of smart devices merely helps you turn a physical action into a verbal one…
Is the technology simple?
Not really; IoT technology, natural language processing (NLP), etc., are not simple technologies.
But is it considerate? Is it intelligent?
Not necessarily.
The AI + IoT combination, known as AIoT, solves the “turn off the light” issue as follows:
Intelligent location decision-making: Using artificial intelligence to determine your location, knowing that you are referring to the light in the living room.
Voice ambiguity processing: When you say “light,” it will help you find the lights that are on or leave a night light after turning off the others.
Besides turning off the lights, it can even determine your intentions based on the context.
For example, when you are lying in bed reading and feel that the light is dim, just say “make it brighter,” and the AIoT system will know to “increase the brightness of the bedside lamp.”
This is the effect of adding AI to IoT, and I believe this is the trend of IoT development.
How can a home without artificial intelligence be called a “smart” home?
Compared to traditional IoT, the biggest difference with AIoT is:
The former requires humans to express their needs for machines to act, while the latter is machines discovering human needs and acting proactively.
This is not just icing on the cake; it is a change in lifestyle.
Similarly, once integrated with AIoT, examples of life being completely transformed include:
In the bathroom, the light turns on when someone enters and turns off when they leave.
In the morning, when you wake up, Xiao Ai reports the weather and news while automatically opening the curtains to wake you up.
When you come home at night, the lights turn on automatically, the air purifier and air conditioning start.
Walk into the living room and say, “Xiao Ai, I want to watch financial news,” and the TV automatically turns on to the right channel.
After a day of serving others, what’s wrong with coming home and letting others serve you, even if it’s a robot… it’s still nice.
Xiaomi AIoT is not only satisfied with letting people be served at home; even when going out, they can still be taken care of.
To achieve this, Xiaomi has partnered with Huazhu Group to implement smart home technology in their hotels.
For example, turning on the air conditioning in advance after check-in and automatically opening the curtains when entering ⬇️
If you have any questions, just ask the speaker without needing to call the front desk.
Voice control for the TV.
And so on…
When you are out, it’s not just the hotel scenario that can use AIoT; in fact, Xiaomi has also tried in-car intelligence.
This may seem similar to other smart cars in detail, but note that if your car steward and your home steward “Xiao Ai” are the same person, how considerate would that be?
As technology enthusiasts, you must know that AI trained with machine learning, the more it is used, the smarter it becomes.
Another advantage of Xiaomi AIoT is revealed:
Currently, there are 132 million devices (not including phones and laptops) connected to Xiaomi IoT online.
Due to the number of devices, Xiao Ai, which has a large number of training samples, is much “smarter” than other AI IoT centers.
This massive number reflects Xiaomi’s top position in the smart home industry, which is visible to both us and third-party manufacturers.
This adds another reason to use Xiaomi AIoT smart home: because this system has a broad market audience, manufacturers are willing to develop products on this platform, giving us consumers more choices. (Currently, there are already 2000 supported smart devices)
At this AIoT conference, the most jaw-dropping thing for me was…
Xiaomi and IKEA have launched a strategic partnership!
All of IKEA’s smart lighting products will be integrated into Xiaomi IoT.
Both IKEA and Xiaomi have a wide range of products in their respective fields, and both have very unique styles.
At the same time, both product lines offer excellent value for money, making them very popular among young people.
Therefore, the combination of the two seems very “in tune” to me.
Now, there’s another reason to visit IKEA: to find useful smart home products.
Even though Xiaomi has gained such a significant lead in the smart home field, they are still not satisfied with the status quo.
To achieve this level, it’s not just about making products to capture the market; Xiaomi chooses to expand the market together and do business with others:
Through the Xiaomi AIoT open ecosystem, they provide interfaces for other manufacturers.
For manufacturers, it’s easier to develop without having to start from scratch to explore the market; they can easily reach the existing large user base of Xiaomi smart home users.
Not only software platform support, but Xiaomi also spares no effort in assisting third-party manufacturers with hardware.
Manufacturers only need to add the Xiaomi IoT WiFi module to their developed products, and users can use it directly by opening the mobile app.
It only costs 9.99 yuan!
This means that manufacturers can integrate into the Xiaomi IoT ecosystem with minimal additional costs.
This creates a win-win situation for both Xiaomi and other manufacturers.
For us consumers, this means that there will be more choices on this platform, and they will be “plug and play” smart products that are extremely convenient.
The change brought by AI + IoT to life may be comparable to the impact of smartphones on the Internet.
In the future, our lives may resemble those in science fiction movies, where artificial intelligence follows us wherever we go, intuitively making our lives easier.
“The first smart furniture for young people!”
