Qualcomm Unveils AI-Powered Home Appliances for Local Processing and Security

Qualcomm has unveiled its vision for making home appliances chattier through built-in AI chatbots that run locally on the device, rather than routing queries to the cloud. The company’s Edge AI technology enables more processing to occur on the device itself, resulting in faster, more secure, and highly personalized experiences.

At CES, Qualcomm demonstrated three potential applications of its technology: a connected refrigerator with interior cameras that acts as a culinary coach, a connected TV that can recognize natural language commands, and a Home Service Robot that can chat with users and perform tasks such as fetching items from the fridge.

While these demos show promise, some experts have raised concerns about how AI-powered appliances will interact with humans. For example, how will an AI agent determine whether to recommend a movie based on a user’s emotional state? However, Qualcomm chief marketing officer Don McGuire emphasizes that local processing and security can avoid many of the issues associated with cloud-based AI.

By running AI locally, Qualcomm claims to mitigate privacy risks, intellectual property issues, and sustainability concerns. This approach also reduces costs associated with maintaining an AI-powered system, which can be significantly more expensive than traditional search methods.

Source: https://uk.pcmag.com/smart-home/156106/qualcomms-smart-home-vision-includes-tvs-that-read-your-emotional-state