Daikin Ties Up with NEC for Artificial Intelligence

Japan: Daikin has announced a tie-up with a Japanese multinational IT company, NEC in order to develop air conditioners integrated with artificial intelligence. NEC’s artificial intelligence technologies are expected to enable Daikin to produce air conditioners capable of recognizing workers and their physical and mental state through facial and voice recognition. The joint research is expected to optimize and control the indoor environment in order to improve occupant comfort and increase productivity. Based on its monitoring information of space usage, the research aims to produce air conditioners capable of learning and predicting the temperature and humidity in the room.

Artificial Intelligence technologies have made great strides in recent years. NEC, with its “Wise technologies’, is one of the leaders in the field with its experience in speech recognition, image and video recognition, language and semantic understanding, machine learning, prediction and detection, and optimal planning and control.

According to TechSci Research, Daikin, which is the biggest air conditioning company globally, continuously relies on technological innovation and new product launch, by tying -up with NEC, the company can benefit by offering its air conditioners with latest technologies and at premium prices.

According to a report published by TechSci Research, “Global Air Conditioners Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, global air conditioner market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% during 2015-20. In addition to the residential segment, growing hospitality and tourism sectors are contributing significantly towards rising demand for air conditioners across the globe. Introduction of energy-efficient air conditioners and air conditioners with in-built air purifiers is expected to boost air conditioner sales in the coming years. Split air conditioners dominated the global air conditioners market over window air conditioners, and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The adoption of window air conditioners, VRF system, chillers and portable air conditioners is also expected to grow over the next five years. Few of the major air conditioner manufacturers with significant global footprint include Gree, Daikin, Toshiba, Carrier, Midea, LG, Panasonic and Trane.