Not so long ago, the Electrolux campus in Stockholm was filled with acrid smoke from a fire in a nearby garage.
The developers and managers who were in the office felt a burning sensation in their throats. One employee had trouble breathing and took time off from work. But before leaving home, she lingered for a while in the building where Andreas Larsson and colleagues were testing the Pure A9, an IoT-connected air purifier using Microsoft Azure.
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The time has come to test what the new device is capable of in extreme conditions.
“We had 10 or 15 Pure A9 air cleaners and turned them all on,” recalls Larsson, Electrolux's CTO. “The air quality has changed dramatically. We invited a colleague to our office, sit down at the table and work for us. She took a few deep breaths and stayed all day."
Launched on March 1 in four Scandinavian countries and Switzerland, and earlier also in Korea, Pure A9 removes ultra-fine particles of dust, impurities, bacteria, allergens and odors from rooms.
By linking the cleaner and the corresponding application to the cloud, Provides real-time indoor and outdoor air quality data to users and tracks indoor performance improvements over time. In addition, Pure A9 constantly monitors filter usage levels, reminding users to order a new one when needed.
Because the Pure A9 is connected to the cloud, Larsson says it will eventually be able to learn the daily schedule of family members - in particular, remember the time when everyone is away - and work in the smart home system.
“If we can predict that no one is in the room at a certain time, then we can guarantee that the filter will not be wasted. Larsson says. “But by the time someone gets home, the air in the room will be clean.”
The launch of the Pure A9 marked a new milestone in Electrolux's commitment to bring connected appliances to "millions of homes around the world to make life easier for consumers."
He reiterates that "the company's path to improve consumer experience lies through the Internet of things, software, data and applications." This process began two years ago with a cloud-connected robot vacuum cleaner called the Pure i9.
The Pure i9 cleans the carpet and cleans the floor around the table and sofa.
The triangular device is equipped with a 3D camera for smart navigation. What's more, Larsson says the Azure IoT platform has facilitated rapid time-to-market by enabling developers to update software and add functionality after launch. The new functionality includes a map view showing places already cleaned by the robot.
The roaming robot is now available in the US, Europe and Asia, including China.
Thanks to the ability to receive cloud data from the device, Electrolux launched a unique pilot in Sweden: a vacuum cleaner as a service.
“Swedish customers can subscribe to Pure i9 services for $8/month and get 80 m2 of floor cleaning,” says Larsson.
“You only pay for what you use,” he says. “This would not be possible without a cloud connection or data collection. This product gives us business opportunities that simply did not exist before.”
This pilot only underlines the digital ambitions of the 100-year-old brand, once famous throughout the world for its vacuum cleaners. Today, Electrolux manufactures and markets ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, water heaters and many other household appliances.
The Pure A9 app provides users with valuable indoor air quality data. During the launch of the Pure i9 in 2017, Larsson stated that “It became clear that this was not going to be a one-off product. An ambitious plan to build an ecosystem of smart, connected products has already begun to take shape.”
The next type of home appliance with networking capabilities is the cloud-connected air purifier. In September 2018, a team of just three Electrolux developers began building the Azure IoT platform for the upcoming Pure A9. By February 2019, this product has already appeared on the Asian market.
“Azure cloud technology allowed them to bring the product to the global market very quickly and with minimal development costs,” said Arash Rassulpor, a Microsoft cloud architect who worked on the project with Electrolux developers.
Electrolux engineers used ready-made Azure IoT Hub functionality
, which allowed them not to write programs themselves, but to devote this time to other tasks.
Electrolux has chosen Korea to first introduce its new air purifier to consumers, where staggering levels of air pollution have caused what legislators say is a public disaster.
Another day in Seoul, South Korea, poisoned by smog. Photo: Getty Images
So, on March 5, the South Korean government urged Seoul residents to wear masks and avoid being outdoors due to a record high level of dust concentration in the air.
Numerous studies have shown that severe outdoor air pollution negatively affects the air quality in homes and offices through ventilation systems.
Moreover, according to Indoor air pollutants from cleaning products, cooking and fireplaces can be even more detrimental to health than outdoor air.
Electrolux global headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.
“By monitoring and controlling indoor air quality, our premium smart air purifier contributes to a better climate and therefore better consumer well-being,” said Karin Asplund, Global Director, Ecosystems Category, Electrolux.
“With the Pure A9 app, consumers can better understand the actual work done by the purifier, as data from its touch sensors is translated into understandable and actionable information,” she adds.
With two connected devices in hand, consumers can start the weekend on a clean and comfortable note.
“We want your home to be tidy and clean when you get home on a Friday night,” says Larsson. “You just walk in, take off your shoes, sit on the couch and feel like this is your home.”
Source: habr.com