LG’s Zero Labour Home Vision

What if your home knew you were coming, adjusted the temperature, switched on your favourite music and had the washing done without you having to lift a finger?

And what if leaving the house means your appliances switch to energy-saving mode, your robot vacuum starts cleaning and your electric car’s battery level is checked?

This is the idea behind LG’s Zero Labour Home vision, which I got to experience at a demo during a recent visit to Seoul, South Korea with LG South Africa.

LG Electronics wants to move beyond the traditional smart home, where connected appliances can be controlled from a smartphone app, towards one that understands how people live and so it can take care of your daily (connected) tasks.

Its vision, described as “Your home, thoughtfully cared for”, brings together artificial intelligence (AI), connected appliances, sensors and services to create a home that responds to its occupants rather than waiting for instructions.

At the centre of this is LG’s AI Home ecosystem, with ThinQ ON acting as the hub that connects and manages LG appliances and compatible Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

A smart home might let you switch on the air conditioner remotely but an AI-powered home should understand when you need it, why you need it and what else should happen as a result. But it’s a whole other topic when it comes to letting AI do the thinking for you.

A HOME THAT THINKS AHEAD

I visited ThinQ Real at LG Sciencepark in Magok, Seoul, a show home that brought this connected setup to life. It felt like a home rather than a lab with an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area, plus a bedroom and an attached laundry room.

Sensors keep an eye on the surroundings, so the home will adapt to changes in air quality, temperature and lighting.

The magic begins at the front door: once the smart lock recognises a resident’s fingerprint, the home slips into welcome mode.

Instead of faffing about with switches, everything adjusts automatically; the living room lights glow, favourite tunes start playing and the smart speaker may offer tips based on what’s happening outside. Example, if there’s a lot of fine dust outdoors, it might suggest using the LG Styler to refresh your clothes.

The idea here is LG showing the difference between a home that follows orders and one that uses context to be helpful.

LESS BUTTON PRESSING, MORE COOKING

The kitchen is where things come to life. LG’s MoodUP fridge, oven and dishwasher pair with ThinQ ON, so you can chat with your appliances using natural voice commands instead of fiddling with menus.

For example, ask ThinQ ON how to make chicken tenders and it will guide you through the recipe step by step in the oven.

The clever bit kicks in once you start cooking: when the oven comes on, AI Home can open nearby windows and switch on the extractor hood to keep the air fresh.

So you don’t need to remember the fan or worry about what else needs doing, your home handles it all behind the scenes.

The level of automation goes beyond controlling everything individually from another app.

SLEEP, LAUNDRY AND EVERYTHING BETWEEN

LG’s bedroom display shows how you can set the mood for whatever you’re doing. You can switch between sleep, wake-up and entertainment modes with a simple voice command, via the ThinQ app or a smart button: one press gets all your connected devices working together.

There’s also a dedicated laundry room with LG’s WashTower. It runs quietly and lets you move clothes straight from the dryer into your wardrobe without a fuss.

The aim is to keep laundry from disturbing the rest of your home while linking every step of clothes care. LG is also bringing AI to more of its appliances, so these features aren’t only for a few top-end models.

THE HOME CINEMA AND DISAPPEARING CHORES

When you say “Run Cinema Mode”, your living room becomes a cosy cinema, with the lights set perfectly for a movie night.

“Away Mode” goes even further: tell the system you’re heading out and ThinQ ON can switch off the lights, put appliances into energy-saving mode, check your EV’s battery and send the LG robot vacuum off to tidy up while you’re gone.

It provides a glimpse of how a connected home could go beyond daily chores. Checking your EV battery could be handy as more make the switch to electric and letting your home chat with your car adds a futuristic touch, but not without additional security concerns.

THE ECOSYSTEM IS THE REAL STORY

Getting all these gadgets talking to each other is easier said than done. One of LG’s biggest hurdles – and chances, is making its setup work with other third-party devices.

LG is building on its ThinQ platform and ThinQ ON hub via Homey, an open smart-home system that welcomes smart devices with support from over 1000 apps that connects more than 50 000 IoT devices.

This is so NB because most of us don’t buy every appliance from one brand. I have a smart home apps folder on my phone because so many things don’t talk to each other.

LG will focus on security with LG Shield, to keep appliances, services and your data safe. Trust will be key as our homes get smarter and gather more details about how we live.

Also check out my other posts from Seoul, South Korea

• LG brings WashTower and heat-pump to SA here
• A visit to LG Smart Park in Changwon, South Korea here
• A selection of LG AI appliances can be found on the LG website