Mitsubishi Electric has developed an autonomous platform that enables networked smart appliances to use their sensors and functionalities to cooperate in new home services without the need for cloud computing or internet connection. “By integrating the aggregation of diverse functionalities not possible with individual appliances – the company explains – the platform is expected to facilitate a wide variety of cooperative smart appliances and related services for increasing comfortable and convenient homes. Mitsubishi Electric’s new platform will support the ongoing trend of home appliances offering increasingly smart functions for networked environments. The platform incorporates technology that will enable appliances to collaborate with each other without connection to a cloud or the internet, and to support new services that could not be implemented with individual appliances. The result will be more comfortable and convenient living environments in which occupants will not be required to operate or adjust their smart appliances on a daily basis. Mitsubishi Electric has developed a lightweight software library that requires memory space of just around three megabytes, enabling the platform to run even on low-spec microcontrollers such as those deployed in smart home appliances. The platform also allows for newly acquired smart home appliances to be added seamlessly to the network”. The commercialization of the platform is targeted at 2020.
