I asked Sharp, Toshiba, Panasonic, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, and home appliance manufacturers for "common sense in 30 years later"

"DIME" celebrates its 35th anniversary.In the last 35 years when DIME has been walking, the environment, life, product, and services surrounding consumers have changed beyond imagination.Therefore, in the June issue of DIME, the question of what will happen in the next 30 years, what kind of vision will be drawn and the business is proceeding with the business is directly interviewed by the company leading the industry that leads the industry!

In the magazine, we could not introduce all due to space, but@Dime will introduce all the answers.

Thank you to all the spokeswoman for each company who cooperated with the interview!

TOPIC4 Future of Home Appliances

Although home appliances have led the world as Japanese homes, it is remarkable for rivals that are excellent in cost performance such as China and South Korea.In the future, how does home appliances change as IoT?This time, five home appliance manufacturers answered.

Sharp Toshiba Life Style Panasonic Hitachi Global Life Sorzus Mitsubishi Electric

Q1: What do you think is the product that has been the most hit or new trend in your white goods in your company?What kind of evolution do you think it will evolve in the future?

sharp

(1) The plasma cluster air purifier released in 2000 and celebrated its 21st year.

As an air purification technology that releases safe plus and negative ions in the air to inactive harmful substances (mold bacteria, viruses, cigarettes, etc.), air purifiers, air purifiers, air purifiers, air conditioners, humidifiers, and refrigerators.In addition to its own products such as, it is widely used in various products from different industries, and it is expected that the cumulative sales of plasma cluster will be sold this year.

Applied products equipped with plasma cluster technology will expand their recruitment in transportation and large spaces that will become social infrastructure in the future, and are expected to develop solutions with various services such as watching and collective management through cloud cooperation by IoT.increase.

(2) Water oven Helsio is released in 2004 and realizes detective, salt reduced salt and nutritional maintenance.

We have achieved a total of 2.5 million units sold and established a delicious health cooking field.We aim to expand new food solution services in cooperation with home appliances data and external services by IoT.

(3) Automatic cooking pot Helsio hot cook without water released in 2013.

Just put the ingredients in the inner pot, it realizes a “Hokkaido Cooking”, which automatically adjusts the heat and scraping, and achieved a cumulative sales volume of 300,000 units at the end of September last year.As a synonym for "Horikakashi Home Appliances", he became a leading person in the automatic cooking pot boom.We are promoting the expansion of the menu by using IoT and promoting it in the near future "one essential product in one family".

Panasonic

Drum type washing and dryer.In the case of conventional vertical washing machines, housework is caused by hanging laundry after washing.Also, depending on the weather, there were problems such as the laundry that was hard to dry.For busy households, such as dual -working, I think that the first drum -style washing and dryer released in the industry that can be finished until drying without worrying about the weather has created a new life style.In 2017, the industry's first liquid detergent and softener automatic introduction were adopted, and they were highly evaluated.In the future, I think that we will continue to evolve into a product that can send more convenient and richer daily life than our customers.

Mitsubishi Electric

It was introduced 50 years ago, but in 2017, Kirigamine, a room air conditioner certified in the Guinness World Record, is a hit product in sales and market recognition in 2017.。"Kirigamine" is already promoting AI and IoT, but in the future, the cooperation with AI and IoT technology to realize services and solutions that cannot be realized only by the model required by the market in the future has evolved further.I think it will go.

Toshiba

Automatic ice making function (Kadani ice): The refrigerator with automatic ice making function was released about 30 years ago and became a huge hit.In the future, I think it will evolve to make more transparent ice faster.

Japan's first DD inverter fully automatic washing machine: I was able to wash it without worrying about the sound early in the morning or at night, and changed people's lives significantly.In the future, I think it will evolve in the balance between quietness and torque and revolutions in energy saving.

Hitachi

In the refrigerator, in addition to the provision of "vacuum chilled (2007)" and "whole chilled (2019)", which is a unique freshness holding technology, "vegetable center (1996)", which has a vegetable room in the middle, draws out.We have created trends in the industry with advanced layout proposals such as "perfect select (2019)", which can choose from vegetables, freezing and refrigerated modes.

In the washing machine, the vertical washing and drying machine "Beatwash (2004)", which achieves high detergency and water saving, and "wind iron (2007)", such as "wind iron (2007)", which reduces wrinkles with high -speed winds to reduce ironing.With ideas and unique techniques, we have solved the problems in washing.

Q2: One thing that consumers care about when buying home appliances is energy -saving performance.Do you think energy saving performance will still improve in the future?Please tell us your future outlook.

sharp

It is thought that energy saving using IoT will evolve from the energy saving of the product alone.

In the air conditioner, AI learns the status of user rooms and usage status, and combines information such as weather forecasts, and it is considered that these controls will expand to each home appliance.

Panasonic

I think that various things will continue to be developed in the world in the world, so I think that energy saving performance will be improved with such technological evolution.

Mitsubishi Electric

In the case of air conditioners and refrigerators, it is difficult to improve energy -saving performance by improving product technology due to the promotion of low GWP of refrigerant based on the revision of the Montreal Protocol Kigari.Therefore, it is assumed that it will be a direction to improve the energy -savingness of the entire home used, such as how to move the product and use it with other products by combining it with other products.

In addition, in order to realize carbon native, I think that it is necessary to have the overall evaluation mechanism, including materials, manufacturing, and disposal, as well as the energy -saving of home appliances when using home appliances.

Toshiba

I think that the development of night -time power storage functions will further improve energy saving performance.In addition, I think that returning to the essential function can improve energy saving performance.

(Example: It is a refrigerator that tends to make the side plate thinner and a large capacity trend, but even if the capacity is slightly reduced, it will be thickened to increase energy saving performance).

Hitachi

SDGｓへの取り組みがグローバルで加速していること、また、Hitachiグループは環境価値向上への貢献を掲げていることから、当社としても引き続き省エネ性能の向上に貢献していきたいと考えています。

Q3: If there is a white household appliances that may have appeared 30 years later, what do you think is it?

sharp

・ I think that the existing white goods will not be gone, but there is a possibility that "Cocoro Robot, which has a heart along each person," will appear beyond that frame.

For example, it is expected that a robot that performs nursing care, child care, cooking, and laundry will become one of the times per person and one family.

・ Maintenance -free home appliances, for example, in case of failure, remote repair by IoT, automatic service parts ordering are assumed.

・ It is thought that home appliances will be cordless by evolution of storage batteries and fuel cells.Non -contact charging seems to proceed.

・ As an individual product, an air curtain by plasma cluster attached to the door at home.(Remove pollen, dust and virus)

・ A small washing machine that is different from the method of turning water and washing, which is directly dirty at the fiber level.

・ Wind -free air conditioning equipment that directly exchange air

・ Various products and services are assumed, such as the optimal flavoring and cooking methods that are optimal when the ingredients are inserted based on the preference and health status of individuals.

Panasonic

As the population washing machine and robot vacuum cleaner were born to reduce the burden of housework and the declining birthrate and aging population, the environment has been born in accordance with the changes in the environment and the changes in people's lives.I think white goods will still appear.

Toshiba

The whole room may be one home appliance.I think that there is a function of the refrigerator and washing machine in the wall, and there may be no home appliances in the space.

Hitachi

In Japan, there is also a social background, such as the increase in living alone in the elderly, so it may be possible to spread family -type robots like pets.As you can imagine, the robot function is not a single function, but it has some functions of household appliances and housework, such as having a vacuum cleaner and refrigerator function, and supporting general housework.I think it would be interesting if something came out.

Q4: Conversely, if there is a white household appliances that are gone 30 years later, what do you think is it?

sharp

・ Heating machine using petroleum

Panasonic

Looking back on the past, white goods have many products that are close to their lives, so I think that although various evolutions have been achieved, there are not many products that have completely disappeared.We believe that the current white goods will evolve, changing the value of providing with the great changes in people's lives, culture, and dramatic technologies.

Toshiba

In extreme cases, I think that everything is gone.It may be possible that people do not do housework using home appliances, such as alling outsered and robots.

Hitachi

Home appliances are evolving every day through IoT, automatic orders based on it, and collaboration with other companies.In the future, we may accelerate product development and solution proposals that collect and analyze user data.In this way, white goods are full of various possibilities, and we will also want to consider the improvement of the convenience of our customers.

Q5:.Do you think IoT will proceed with all home appliances?

sharp

・ Many home appliances will be converted to IoT, but it is expected that the role will change between luxury machines and extensions.

The advantage of IoT home appliances is that you can use it for a long time by optimizing according to your customers.

Luxury machines will propose the best services according to their preferences and lifestyles.

For example, it is assumed that home appliances will evolve from a mere tool to a partner who supports life together, such as foreseeing a failure before it breaks and produces new services such as maintenance packages.

On the other hand, the extension machine is considered to be a simpler hard configuration, and the purpose of the customer achieves a simple one.

Panasonic

Technically, it is possible to convert all home appliances to IoT, but if we can connect to the network, we can create new value and useful for consumers.It is the idea.

Mitsubishi Electric

We believe that IoT will proceed with all home appliances.Services and solutions created in cooperation with AI and IoT technology that cannot be realized by products alone have become important factors in recent years.Home appliances are also required for home appliances to be close to each person while responding to various purposes, and IoT of home appliances is expected to be further developed in the future.

Toshiba

There is no doubt that the direction of home appliances is IoT.

Our products are also equipped with functions such as watching and recipe proposals, but if you are promoting IoT with household appliances, we believe that it is necessary to promote product development that can proceed with the advantages of IoT.I am.

Hitachi

I think we will proceed.

Q6: I think home appliances have become more convenient in the last 30 years.What do you think there is room for evolution in the future?

sharp

The domestic market, where the number of households is declining due to the declining birthrate and aging population, cannot be expected to grow with the same hard -selling business alone.

そこで成長の鍵となるのが「AIoT」です。「AIoT」は、AI と IoT を組み合わせたsharpの造語ですが、製品購入後お客様にネットを通じてサービスなどを提供することで価値を高めていく、スマートライフの実現を目指しています。

In addition, we will expand our business by creating a new business based on home appliances used history data.

Panasonic

I think that there is still room to evolve, as well as energy -saving performance in the previous question, as well as easy -to -use shapes, designs, functions, etc. according to the changes in the environment and people's lives.

Mitsubishi Electric

From now on, we expect that the speed of changes in user needs will be faster, and "functions used" and "unused functions" will be divided for each individual.

For example, in the air conditioner, the basic performance such as energy saving is improved as the product itself, but various additional functions are not incorporated into the product, but a menu is prepared on the software placed on the cloud side, and it is expanded with user needs.I predict that it will be done.The value -added function may be a subscription type (hereinafter referred to as a sub -skop) because it is divided into necessary people and unnecessary people, but there is also a possibility that it will be a provision that chooses the need or or without it.For customers, in addition to the benefits of the price of the product itself, the freedom to customize as they like will increase, so we believe that it will be mainstream in the future.

Toshiba

Until now, home appliances have been paying attention to reducing the burden of housework, but in the future they will specialize and evolve in enriching their lives.

Hitachi

For example, considering the value of the refrigerator in the housework flow when preparing a meal, it is assumed that the value that can be provided will increase due to IoT, etc., although the freshness of the ingredients is maintained and the storage and removal of the ingredients.I am.With a focus on this movement, we launched a smartphone in March, which connects to a smartphone and supports food stock management and purchase with apps in March.We will continue to promote more convenient food stock management solutions by collaboration with food suppliers.

Q7: Although it was a home appliance that was a Japanese home art, I think many rival companies, including China and South Korea, are born.What kind of part do you want to differentiate?

sharp

Same answer as Q7

Panasonic

There is a lineup of a wide range of home appliances that are close to people's lives, so we would like to deliver the value that can be generated by connecting home appliances as well as the features of each product.

Mitsubishi Electric

・ Based on reliable performance and quality, we respond to customer expectations with the potential market needs of customers and the product value that will transmit more than expected when you get it.I think it is required.

・ In addition, as mentioned in Q5, services and solutions that are generated in cooperation with AI and IoT technology that cannot be realized only by model alone are required, and each person is close to each person while responding to various uses.Proposals are also required for home appliances.Our company is also interesting for customers, such as "personalization for each customer", "providing the pleasure and excitement to use", "response to changes through life cycles such as family structure and preferences".We will develop a living solution including "Koto" that you can think of.

Toshiba

It is a "user centric" perspective in product development that we value.We would like to introduce products that suit new lifestyles without changing the fundamental part of product development.

Hitachi

家電から得られるデータを活用した新たなサービスやソリューションは、これから成長が期待される事業の一つだと思います。Hitachiグループでは先進的なデジタル技術を活用したソリューション・サービス・テクノロジーの総称であるLumada事業を展開していますが、例えば、家電分野においてはコネクテッド家電を活用した洗剤自動発注など、新たなチャレンジを始めています。家電とLumadaの親和性は高いと考えており、Lumadaを活用して生活者の課題解決に向けたサービスやソリューションを拡大し、差別化も図っていきたいと考えています。

The special feature of the DIME's latest issue is "New common sense of stock investment", and the special appendix is "Smartphone LIVE stand"

Sentence / DIME editorial department