Sharp Corporation to Expand Upon Its “Changing the World with 8K and AIoT” Vision
The era of 8K began in earnest on August 31, as Sharp unveiled the world’s first consumer-ready 8K-compatible televisions and monitors, the AQUOS 8K series, scheduled for release in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Europe between autumn 2017 and spring 2018. Today the firm restated its aim to provide more than just displays with great definition, committing itself to establishing an 8K ecosystem covering the whole value chain, from image creation and processing to distribution and display. Besides broadcasting, Sharp envisages 8K transforming fields like medicine, security, education, inspection systems, and infrastructure maintenance, with the new format’s overwhelming realism and detail bringing diverse discoveries, including previously unimagined applications and appliances.
The second pillar of Sharp’s vision rests on AIoT, a term coined to reflect the firm’s unique synthesis of AI and IoT. The aim is to extend the smart home concept beyond the home itself, providing a network of IoT devices that constantly monitor and learn about our lifestyles and preferences, leveraging leading-edge AI to offer optimal services and solutions for any situation. More than just simple tools, appliances will become our partners in addressing the needs of both individual households and society as a whole.
This calls for People-Oriented IoT, a comprehensive ecosystem of appliances and services that integrate seamlessly and automatically inside and outside the home, continually focused on user needs. Sharp’s COCORO+ series of AIoT devices already includes unique products like RoBoHoN and the COCORO Kitchen range, and this lineup expanded at CEATEC 2017 with the launch of Android-equipped AQUOS 4K TV sets, which use voice recognition and machine learning to offer viewing attuned to individual user preferences.
“We aim to deliver a People-Oriented Smart Life in which users’ activities inside and outside the home are intuitively connected.” said Bob Ishida, Executive Vice President & Head of AIoT Business Strategy Office and CEO, Europe Business.
“We anticipate that during fiscal 2019 our smart home business will reach JPY 1 trillion/£6.69 billion in value,” added Ishida.
