In what is probably one of the absolute weirdest announcements at CES thus far, LG has just recently introduced a new way to “talk” with your home appliances called Home Chat. It goes without saying that for right now, they have to be part of a new line of upcoming LG home appliances that support this platform technology. This new platform called Home Chat, is being partnered up with a popular SMS app called Line, that will allow you to use your smartphone to talk talk to your home appliances. We know this might sound all too weird and futuristic to you, and we agree. Its a little strange, but when you really think about it, it makes sense. Home Chat uses a technology called Natural Language Processing (NLP) to take the interactions and speech from these appliances and give them a somewhat human-like approach, so we can feel like we’re actually interacting with another human being.
With the Line messaging app, and a compatible Home Chat supported appliance, you’ll be able to talk to and interact with your home appliances like you’re texting a friend or family member. For example, perhaps you were late for a meeting and forgot to start a load of laundry in the washer. The load is ready to go, but you forgot to press the “ON” button. With Line and Home Chat, you’ll be able to send a message to your washer and tell it to start the wash load so it’ll be finished and ready for you to switch it by the time you get back. In a strangely odd sense of comfort, this sort of feature could be more than helpful to someone who has a busy life, and might otherwise forget things. Not only that, but it might also be a fun way to feel like you have a bunch of robot servants that manage tasks around your home. On a more realistic note, the idea behind all of this is to make your appliances more efficient, and bring them forward to be as “smart” as our other devices have become these days. The line of new smart appliances from LG Electronics includes a Washer/Dryer, an Oven, a Robotic Vacuum, and a Smart Fridge. This line of home appliances has no mention of a release date yet, but it is definitely sometime this year. Let us know what you think about LG’s new lineup of smart appliances in the comments. Who wouldn’t want to talk to their fridge?