CES 2019: LG Takes ThinQ AI A Step Further in the Kitchen & Laundry Room

LG Electronics is advancing its belief in the role Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play in consumers’ lives in short shrift, with advancements in its 2019 product lines across the board – in TVs, of course, but also in appliances.

At the 2019 CES Monday, David Vander Waal, senior vice president of marketing, showed off a bevy of innovations that reflect increasingly sophisticated technologies which gather preference and lifestyle data from consumers, intuit the data and then personalize recommendations for consumers.

LG's Styler, open and revealing its shimmying hangers

The company is promoting a philosophy of “collaboration and coordination among multiple devices,” he said in showing off products as diverse as a beer maker (already reported on by Dealerscope last month, to vacuum cleaners, to something called  the LG Styler – what the company is terming as the first total clothing care system.

It offers “moving hanger” functionality that shakes out wrinkles and TrueSteam Tech, which helps tamp down allergens and bacteria that may be clinging to clothing, keeping garments hygienically fresh. The Styler can refresh up to four garments – including a pair of pants in the door – simultaneously. Heat Pump Drying reduces energy consumption by recycling heat from the hot, moist air inside the Styler and Pants Crease Care lends neat look to pants by eliminating wrinkles and creating a crisp crease-line without an iron.

In tune with these initiatives, he said, LG is also launching Pro Active Customer Care this year – a service that will alert owners preemptively about potential issues with appliances and will even suggest actions ahead of problems occurring that the appliance user can take. These suggestions range from nudging the customer about a water filter change that will soon be needed (and offering to place the order for the replacement purchase) to recommending that the customer try a DIY quick fix on an appliance before a service call is ordered. This will be available on both laundry and kitchen appliances, he said.