Summary
- "AI@Home
Project," which involves implementation of intelligent home technology
on collective housing, to be participated by Samsung Electronics, LG
Electronics, Korea Land & Housing Corp. (LH), and Hyundai E&C and many
others in various fields.
- "AI@Home Certification"
system to be set up, to brand and promote intelligent homes.
- "Intelligent Home Alliance,"
a cooperative body of construction, home appliances, device manufacturing, and
artificial intelligence businesses, will be launched within this year.
- "International Accreditation Center
for the Matter Standard" as a domestic hub for export support and
international cooperation will be established.
- User-centric "Aftermarket" to be fostered to
support purchase and installation of a wide range of new intelligent home
products.
- Introduction of "WiFi7" and
transition to fiber-optic cables for ultra-low latency and
ultra-connectivity services.
- Security improvement measures, such as stronger
security certification procedures and monitoring of domestic and foreign video service
providers, to be implemented.
The Ministry of
Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong Ho, hereinafter referred to as 'MSIT')
announced the "Plan for Establishment and Promotion of Intelligent Homes
(AI@Home)" at an emergency meeting of economy-related ministers, on August
9th. The Plan is an attempt to create new markets and improve the
quality of life for citizens by promoting intelligent home industry.
Intelligent homes
are emerging as a global trend in digital innovation. Smart homes, a preceding
concept, were limited to controlling few devices, such as wall tablets and
artificial intelligence (AI) speakers. However, intelligent homes connect
general household devices, from digital appliances and lighting to entryways,
through a unified global standard, and provide AI-based, personalized services.
According to the Korea
Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), in the U.S., the level of
implementation of intelligent home is indeed affecting the value and rate of
real estate. Intelligent home products, such as Amazon Alexa (46.5 million
users) and Google Home (27.1 million users), are widely used enjoying much
popularity. Similarly, there is a rapid increase in the number of intelligent
home service users in China, best exemplified by recent performances of Huawai
and Xiaomi.
On the other hand,
smart homes in South Korea are confined to smaller user base, because services
are still narrowly centered around wall tablets and AI speakers. Also,
construction and appliances businesses have adopted different standards (e.g.,
OneM2M, RS485, and OCF) for device connection, restricting users' choice of
plug-in device and hindering market development.
Nevertheless, the
global market of smart homes is moving toward the convergence of inconsistent
technology standards into the single ‘Matter’* and integration with generative
AI, evolving into intelligent home market that offers even smarter and more
convenient services.
* Over 530 companies from platform,
appliances, and device manufacturing sectors have participated in the release
of the Matter standard (October 2022), to facilitate a network effect, in which
the value of goods and services increases as the user base expands, and to
achieve seamless device connectivity.
Responding
to this global trend, MSIT has developed a comprehensive "Plan for Establishment
and Promotion of Intelligent Homes (AI@Home)" that proactively leverages
the transition period to systematically support the creation of new markets for
intelligent homes.
Through
this initiative, the introduction of user-centric, differentiated services is
expected to be promoted. This in turn will lead to an improvement in the
quality of the public’s life and enhancement of welfare outreach to vulnerable
groups, such as people with disabilities and elderlies.
1. Establishing the intelligent home
ecosystem
Intelligent homes
require a collaborative ecosystem among related enterprises and organizations
in the construction, small devices, appliances, and AI sectors to create
innovative services. In line with this, MSIT has decided to support the
establishment of private-led collaborative ecosystem for intelligence homes.
² Intelligent Home
Pioneer Project (AI@Home)
First, the
Ministry plans to initiate the Intelligent Home Pioneer Project (AI@Home),
which aims to implement and validate intelligent home models based on global
standards (Matter) and artificial intelligence (generative AI).
In Phase 1
(2023~2024), the Project will support the validation stage of services that
allow convenient control of home configurations from anywhere at any time, by
connecting a variety of household appliances, lighting, security devices,
ventilation system and so on, based on the Matter standard.
In Phase 2, the
validation of global leading intelligent home models will be put forward, utilizing
innovative technologies, such as generative AI and household robots that
understand contexts and are operated autonomously.
² Intelligent Home
(AI@Home) Certification
Next, to
facilitate the swift adoption of intelligent homes, the Plan includes the
establishment of a 3-tiered private certification system, so that information
on products could be more easily identified by citizens, and thereby branding
the intelligent home concept. In addition, to promote active collaboration
between related domestic businesses, including those in the construction,
appliances, device manufacturing, and AI sectors, the Intelligent Home Alliance
is scheduled to be launched within this year.
2. Sharpening competitiveness of intelligent
home industry in the global market
To enhance the
global competitiveness of intelligent home industry, MSIT will put efforts in promoting
exports, fostering aftermarket, and modernizing both wired and wireless home
network technologies up to date.
² Developing a
competitive edge in intelligent home products and overseas export
Infrastructure
will be established to support the overseas expansion of intelligent home
businesses, enabling them to compete in the global market.
Korean exporters usually
pay high costs to obtain international certifications. To ease this burden, the
International Accreditation Center for the Matter Standard will be established
within this year. The Center will operate global certification processes for
domestic companies so that they don’t have to pay for overseas business trips
and relevant expenditures. The Center will act as a hub for enhancing
collaboration and cooperation with other global accreditation centers, and
leading countries in intelligent home industry, such as the U.S. and the EU.
Furthermore, the Center will be responsible for joint development of and
response to international standards.
And to address technical
challenges faced by small and medium-sized device manufacturers, the
Intelligent Home Technology Support Center will be set up. Also, the Plan will
support promising small and medium-sized enterprises for their entry into the overseas
market, including participation in key international exhibitions.
² Fostering aftermarket
ecosystem
The concept of 'beforemarket'
was dominant in the domestic housing market until now, in which digital
features are incorporated at the time of construction and provided as a package
in housing complexes by real estate developers. Moving forward, MSIT will
support transition to user-centric 'aftermarket' approach, so that end-users
can easily build intelligent home themselves, not only in newly constructed
complexes, but also in existing houses, by plugging in devices purchased from various
channels.
The Plan also
seeks to nurture the smart interior industry. For instance, a company can work
on the design and installment of digital devices, such as smart lighting, door
locks, and AI speakers in indoor spaces to build an intelligent home, by
meeting the needs of users, regardless of users' prior knowledge.
Moreover, the
development and validation processes of 'killer devices' to foster a diverse
range of competitive products will be supported.
² Advancement of
intelligent home network
Measures will be
taken to advance the foundation of intelligent home services, including data
collection and network enhancement.
Large-scale
training datasets, necessary for the development of new intelligent home
services based on generative AI, will be collected as well.
WiFi 6E, a
high-capacity and high-speed wireless network, will be supplied in larger
scale, which will enable ultra-low latency and ultra-connectivity services for
household usage. And starting from the latter half of this year, introduction
of the next-generation WiFi 7 in 2024 will be pushed forward with revision of
technical standards. Specifically, efforts will be made to encourage frontal
changes in infrastructure, requiring newly constructed buildings
to implement fiber-optic cable structure, and all trunk lines connecting
communication base centers and regional hubs will be upgraded with optical
cables.
3. Improving security and expanding market
base of intelligent homes
For anyone to live
in an intelligent home with their safety assured, security of homes will be
further strengthened. First, the Plan contains an initiative to validate
zero-trust practices, in order to enhance the security of service platforms
based on the Matter standard. Additionally, a pool of highly capable
professionals specializing in intelligent home security will be nurtured, by providing
advanced training curricula targeting skilled software developers.
Furthermore, the Plan
includes various strategies to improve security of intelligent home devices including
Internet Protocol (IP) cameras. The security certification procedures will be
reinforced, while the reward system for those who report security vulnerability
will be put forward. In particular, to prevent unauthorized exposure of IP
camera footage, continuous monitoring of both domestic and foreign video
sharing websites will be implemented.
In terms of
raising consumer awareness on intelligent homes, public campaigns will be
undertaken with a focus on dissemination of do-it-yourself (DIY) culture through
participatory activities, such as an idea contest. In Magok-dong, Seoul, a
permanent exhibit providing interactive experience with intelligent home
services is planned to be installed later this year.
Pointing out the
rapid evolution of intelligent home market, Minister Lee Jong Ho stated that,
"Global enterprises are already leading the standardization of
technologies and focusing on service differentiation. We are in an urgent
moment in which we need to strive to forge a new market by identifying
pioneering intelligent home models and services based on global standards, and
fostering aftermarket for wider adoption of intelligent homes with the momentum
of market transition.
The Minister
further highlighted, "MSIT will attentively listen to the voices of the
field and provide proactive support so that intelligent homes can become a new
growth engine and make our lives better."
For further information, please contact the Public
Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr)
of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Please refer to the attached PDF.