这几十年来我一直是CES的忠实参观者，但这几年我却惊讶地发现有大量的家电设备─特别是白色家电──出现在消费性电子领导厂商的摊位上。
当我还在疑惑着为何突然开始讨论电冰箱、洗衣机以及真空吸尘器，接着就一头栽进西屋电器(Westinghouse)的摊位，看见该公司的代言女明星Betty Furness (1916~1994)戴着珍珠项链、身着小礼服对我微笑。
就我所知，CES向来都是各种家用娱乐系统──也就是所谓“黑色家电”──的主场；跟那些真空吸尘器一点关系也没有。数字平台的转移、新一代光学储存设备规格之争、音/视频编译码标准、有线/无限家庭网络技术、手机/平板…等等议题一直是展会上最受瞩目的焦点。但现在，除了那些家用娱乐系统之外，各种家电产品忽然成为CES的当红炸子鸡。
怎么会这样？你也许发现我的语气有淡淡的不舍，没错，我非常不解为何21世纪的CES会 “复古”回1950年代，那真的吓到我了…于是我想到Colin Angle (iRobot创办人)与James Dyson (Dyson创办人)在日本市场是如何被看待的。
Colin Angle (左)与James Dyson (右)
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上 面这两位仁兄是日本媒体眼中的摇滚巨星，几乎每家日本高档杂志都会出现Dyson或 iRobot这两个家电品牌的广告页面，上面有Dyson或是Angle──两位企业CEO都是身材修长、外貌英俊而且穿著休闲──意气风发的笑容；微微瞇着眼看，你可能会以为眼前的人像是乔布斯(Steve Jobs)或者库克（Tim Cook）。
而除了以上“人”的因素，在CES也可以发现充分的证据，说明那些本来被看扁的家电设备为何卷土重来。
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：用智能手机控制家中冰箱、洗衣机
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• 松下：押注环保事业风险虽高，但值得一试
• 中国家电品牌借伦敦奥运东风打营销战
• 对日本电子巨头们来说，有舍才能有得D3Fesmc
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乐金电子(LG Electronics)CTO Scott Ahn在展会期间谈到了“智能控制(Smart Control)”，也就是让使用者能透过
智能手机发出语音指令来管理家电，或是在外面远程监控家里的LG家电；该公司表示，只要简单用智能手机扫描LG家电上的NFC卷标符号，使用者就能登入并执行远程控制 冰箱、洗衣机、真空吸尘机器人等设备。
除了洗衣机，还有一系列的智能衣物护理
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Ahn用智能手机示范如何远程设定洗衣机的洗衣程序，他也谈到如何远程监控家中的真空吸尘机器人执行清扫任务。虽然我很讨厌每种家电都要冠上“智能”两个字，但LG先进的家用真空吸尘器显然是具备了更高智能。
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：聪明的真空吸尘器
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• 松下：押注环保事业风险虽高，但值得一试
• 中国家电品牌借伦敦奥运东风打营销战
• 对日本电子巨头们来说，有舍才能有得D3Fesmc
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举例来说，根据LG表示，该新型真空吸尘机器人配备了两个进阶摄影机，能绘制出更快且更有效率的清扫路线；以一上一下位置排列的两个摄影机，每秒可拍摄数张影像，扫描天花板、墙壁与地板，甚至在低光线环境下也没问题；所收集到的信息会进行分析，以产生更聪明的移动路线图。
在此同时，吸尘器内建的数个感测装置会在180度角范围内侦测障碍物，撷取数百张行进表面的影像，以支持无碰撞的运作…你能想象那样的画面吗？我能。
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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：家电东山再起的新动力：有个相貌英俊的CEO？
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• 松下：押注环保事业风险虽高，但值得一试
• 中国家电品牌借伦敦奥运东风打营销战
• 对日本电子巨头们来说，有舍才能有得D3Fesmc
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于是我终于了解，不再只有电视机、高传真音响或是蓝光光驱等魅力产品会消耗大量微控制器、传感器以及其它芯片，如今任何一种看似单调无趣的家电设备，对想要设计出更智能设备的公司来说，都是一个真正的游乐场(平台)。
在这篇文章中，我将避免通常以“谁会需要？”来反驳的论调(例如：用智能手机来操控洗衣程序？少来了！)，主要是因为此一趋势可能会开启新局，我也承认我确实对白色家电的进展以及所带来的市场商机感到讶异。
我一直认为我了解美国的“能源之星(Energy Star)”等节能标准，是如何推动新一代的白色家电发展；但在那之外，“连结性”也成为一个重要关键──为了带来更多新功能，智能手机与家电的搭档成为明确的趋势，物联网(IoT)随之成为热门议题。
将以上所有元素综合起来，我感受到低功耗、连结性与智能手机，是推动家电设备在CES东山再起的新动力；这也是家电产品成为部分消费性电子大厂新宠的另一个理由，松下(Panasonic)就是一个例子。
面临转亏为盈的挑战，身为日本最大消费性电子厂商的松下退守家电业务，而非一度是旗舰的电视业务；根据松下财报，在该公司目前财务年度的前六个月，唯一营收成长的业务就是家电与车用系统部门。
松下总裁津贺一宏(Kazuhiro Tsuga)在CES期间接受采访时，谈到了该公司焦点由电视转向家电的策略，表示家电设备因为是“单机”产品，因此更具发展前途；在他的定义中，电视机 是一种“以基础设施为本”的产品，需要搭配包括内容、广播系统与服务等元素的整套方案，才能让新一代的智能电视真正发挥出色功能。
相反的，家电产品的获利途径更单纯、也更容易。虽然松下并不会在短时间之内放弃电视市场，津贺对家电业务的未来发展抱持高度期望。
要让松下品牌在目前由GE、Hoover与Electrolux称王的家用电器市场脱颖而出，可能并非易事，但看看Dyson与iRobot这两个在十年前还没没无闻的非传统家电品牌在短时间内席卷市场(特别在日本)的威力，那还是有机会的。
只不过，要塑造出那样的旋风，需要真正独特的技术、贴心的产品设计，也许还需要有个相貌英俊的CEO！（对于家庭主妇掌经济大权的家庭，这条可以有……）
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
编译：Judith Cheng
参考英文原文：Yoshida in Japan: Second-coming of Steve Jobs，by Junko Yoshida
相关阅读：
• 松下：押注环保事业风险虽高，但值得一试
• 中国家电品牌借伦敦奥运东风打营销战
• 对日本电子巨头们来说，有舍才能有得D3Fesmc
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Yoshida in Japan: Second-coming of Steve Jobs
Junko Yoshida
We are suddenly seeing home appliances masquerading as red hot new products at CES. Why is that? Observe how Colin Angle and James Dyson are treated in Japan.
Despite my decades of faithful attendance at International CES, it strikes me odd in recent years to see the abundance of white goods--home appliances--at leading CE companies’ booths.
I found myself wondering why we’re suddenly talking about fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Next thing you know, I’ll stumble into the Westinghouse booth and find Betty Furness in pearls and cocktail dress.
As far as I remember, CES was always a show about what was once known as “brown goods”--home entertainment systems--for parties. It was never about the vacuum cleaner you used to clean up after the party.
The transition to digital platforms; emerging format battles over the next-generation optical storage devices; standards for audio and video codecs; wired and wireless home networking technologies; mobile phones and tablets…there was always, and still is, so much to cover.
But beyond those home entertainment systems, we are now suddenly seeing home appliances masquerading as red hot new products at CES.
Why is that?
If you detected a touch of dismay in my tone, you’re right. I’ve been more than a little perplexed to see the 21st century revert to the 1950s. But then, it hit me.
I thought of how Colin Angle (left) and James Dyson (below) are treated in Japan.
These guys are rock stars in the Japanese media. Every high-end magazine in Japan carries an ad by Dyson or iRobot. In each ad, Dyson or Angle--each is a slender, good-looking, casually dressed CEO of his company--struts his job. Close your eyes a little and you might think you’re looking at Steve Jobs.
Beyond the personality factor, there was also ample evidence at CES as to why the once lowly home appliance is staging a comeback.
Scott Ahn, CTO of LG Electronics, talked about “Smart Control,” which allows users to manage appliances with voice commands via smartphone and to monitor LG's appliances from outside the home.
By simply scanning a smartphone with the NFC Tag-on symbol on LG's smart appliances, LG says users can register and control their refrigerator, washing machine, robotic vacuum cleaner or range remotely. Ahn gave the example of controlling a washing cycle on his smartphone. He also talked about the ability to monitor--remotely--how a robotic vacuum cleaner is doing its job.
Home appliances: Playground for the engineer
As much as I hate calling every appliance at home “smart,” LG’s advanced hom-bot vacuum cleaner appears to have gotten measurably smarter.
For example, the new robotic vacuum cleaner now uses two improved cameras to plot out a faster and more efficient cleaning route, according to the company. Taking several images per second, the upper and lower cameras scan ceilings, walls and floors, even under dim lighting conditions. This information is analyzed to generate smarter mapping. At the same time, multiple sensors detect obstacles within a 180-degree field, taking hundreds of surface images to help provide collision-free operation.
Are you getting the picture here?
Well, I am.
I’ve finally realized that it’s no longer just the glamour goods--TVs, Hi-Fi systems and Blu-ray recorders--consuming masses of microcontrollers, sensors and other chips. Nowadays, every drab appliance is a genuine playground (or “platform”) for the engineer who wants to make things more intelligent than ever before.
In this column, I’m going to refrain from the usual “who-needs-it” retort (like changing a washing cycle on your smartphone? Come on!), mainly because that would take a whole new column. I’ll just confess my amazement how far all the white goods have come; and the opportunities white goods bring to the market.
In the back of my mind, I think I always understood how the Energy Star movement in the United States (to lower power consumption in appliances) drove development of a new generation of white goods.
But beyond that, it’s important to point out that the key is “connectivity.” There is a decidedly new trend of pairing appliances with smartphones--for the purpose of adding more features. Along with this comes the usual hype about the Internet of Things. But putting all these elements into a big picture, I sense that low power, connectivity and smartphones are a fresh impetus for the revival of home appliances at CES.
There is, however, another reason why the home appliance is turning into a new darling for some CE companies. Take a look at Panasonic.
Faced with the huge challenge of bringing Japan’s largest consumer electronics company back to profitability, Panasonic is falling back on the company’s home appliance business, instead of what was once a flagship TV business. In financial results for the first six months of the current fiscal year, the only segments where Panasonic’s sales increased were appliances and automotive systems.
When asked about the shift of emphasis from TV to home appliances during an interview at CES, Kazuhiro Tsuga, president of Panasonic, said that home appliances have more promise because they’re “standalone” products. In his definition, TV is an "infrastructure-based product" which requires a whole host of development efforts in content, broadcast and services before a new generation of smart TV can really stand out. In contrast, home appliances pose a simpler, easier route to profitability. While Panasonic is not walking away from TV anytime soon, Tsuga holds high hopes for the future of home appliances.
To push Panasonic as a household appliance brand in the global markets, now ruled by GE, Hoover and Electrolux, might not be so easy. But if you see how non-traditional brands like Dyson and iRobot--both little known to regular consumers only a decade ago--have taken the market by storm (especially in Japan), you know it can be done. The storm, however, needs truly unique technologies, thoughtful designs and perhaps good-looking CEOs.
责编：Quentin
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