Global Citizenship: What I’ve Learned About the American PCB Business
Global Sourcing Spotlight: The Best Products to Buy Offshore Through Global Sourcing
Nolan's Notes: The Rise (and Risk) of Data
Flex and Innit Collaborate with Google Cloud
April 22, 2019 | FlexEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
Flex and Innit, in collaboration with Google Cloud, announced a solution to power smart kitchen appliances, enabling seamless connectivity, built-in security, upgradeability and interoperability “out of the box.” This pre-integrated, fully tested suite of solutions is designed for makers of appliances such as ovens, refrigerators, cook tops, smart cookers and blenders to add modern interactive controls, connect different products using Google Cloud, and utilize the Innit platform to reinvent the food preparation process and deliver restaurant-quality experiences in the comfort of home.
To power these capabilities across a variety of kitchen appliances including ovens, refrigerators, cooktops, smart cookers and blenders, the three companies designed a pre-integrated, fully tested suite of solutions for appliance manufacturers, aimed at reducing the cost of adding new connected capabilities.
Flex has introduced a new line of standardized IoT and human interface modules, backed by award-winning manufacturing services. Google Cloud contributes its leading AI, voice, security, IoT cloud connectivity services, and the new Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) artificial intelligence chips for smart devices. Innit’s platform connects devices and services into a compelling consumer experience, orchestrating multiple brands of appliances to prepare meals with personalized nutrition, step-by-step video guidance and customized, automated cooking programs tailored to each device.
“Until now, appliance manufacturers have been forced to assemble their own hardware and software components to create smart devices,” said Kevin Brown, CEO and co-founder at Innit. “The Flex-Innit-Google Cloud solution provides a powerful platform to build programmable, upgradeable appliances with differentiated features quickly and cost-effectively, with instant connectivity to the cloud and a rich network of food and technology partners.”
“This Flex-Innit-Google solution integrates hardware, software, cloud and partner ecosystems, and can enable rapid development of products that come alive with connectivity to top brands and advanced services,” said Dave Gonsiorowski, vice president of Innovation Services at Flex. “There’s a tremendous opportunity for this technology to help consumers simplify the process of cooking world-class meals at home.”
The next generation of IoT 2.0 functionality in the kitchen appliance market promises to bring much richer orchestration, including personalized settings, post-sale software-upgradeable features and interoperability of devices from different vendors with an intuitive, unified consumer experience.
“In a world of accelerating development cycles, appliance manufacturers need solutions to rapidly integrate connectivity, security, analytics, and partners so they can focus on core differentiation,” said Antony Passemard, head of product management for Cloud IoT at Google Cloud. “The Flex-Innit-Google Cloud solution enables devices to instantly connect to Google Cloud Platform and access a wide variety of services, ensuring consumers have a great experience and manufacturers can offer their customers better experiences, support and product innovation.”
In contrast to simple tasks like turning on a light bulb, smart kitchen appliances need to support sophisticated, precise actions that can be pre-programmed and adapted to a wide variety of foods, with coordination across different appliances. This new solution offers the following capabilities:
- Streamlined connectivity for IoT devices
- Enhanced end-to-end IoT security
- Cloud services and device identity management for millions of appliances
- Software-upgradeable features for purchase
- Rich content and adaptive cook programs tailored to get the most out of each device
- Orchestration of heterogeneous appliances within a multi-step cooking session
- Personalized and context-driven voice/video interactions
Availability
The joint Flex-Innit-Google Cloud solution was showcased in private demos at CES 2019 in Las Vegas to leading small and large appliance manufacturers and is available for pilot implementations.
About Flex
Flex is the Sketch-to-Scale solutions provider that designs and builds intelligent products globally. With approximately 200,000 employees across 30 countries, Flex provides innovative design, engineering, manufacturing, real-time supply chain insight and logistics services to companies of all sizes across industries and markets.
About Innit
Silicon Valley-based Innit has developed the world's first Connected Food Platform, which simplifies the entire food journey for consumers. Realizing and leading the vision of the connected kitchen, Innit is a centralized hub that integrates a disjointed food system by focusing on the way individuals want to eat. Combining the strengths of its partners' products and services with its platform, Innit provides a personalized, connected, and confidence-building consumer experience across the eating ritual.
Share on:
Suggested Items
NTT, Olympus Joint Demonstration Shows IOWN APN's Low-latency Capability
11/21/2024 | JCN NewswireNTT Corporation and Olympus Corporation announced that, following the start of their joint experiment in March of the world’s first cloud endoscope system which processes endoscopic videos on the cloud, they jointly established a cloud endoscopy system utilizing the IOWN APN technology.
Flexible Thinking: Rules of Thumb: A Word to the Wise
11/20/2024 | Joe Fjelstad -- Column: Flexible ThinkingIn the early days of electronics manufacturing—especially with PCBs—there were no rules. Engineers, scientists, and technicians largely felt their way around in the dark, making things up as they went along. There was a great deal of innovation, guessing, and testing to make sure that early guidelines and estimates were correct by testing them. Still, they frequently made mistakes.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
11/15/2024 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007We have quite a mix in this week’s must-reads. The November issue of Design007 Magazine was published, and you don’t want to miss Andy Shaughnessy’s column. This week, we also have a discussion of long-flex PCBs with CEE PCB’s Jerome Larez, and we revisit my forward-looking interview with Dr. Evelyne Parmentier of Dyconex. Jim Will gives us an update on the many things that have transpired in his first five months as executive director at USPAE. Finally, Happy Holden’s next installment of Happy’s Tech Talk looks into the weaknesses of CAD drawings by using a famous Escher print as an example. Happy is definitely one of a kind.
All Flex Solutions Adds Talent to Flexible Circuit Facilities
11/14/2024 | All Flex SolutionsAll Flex Solutions is excited to welcome John Letourneau as our Director of Facilities and Maintenance at our Flexible Circuit Centers of Excellence!
Global PCB Connections: A Technical Overview of Long-flex Printed Circuit Boards
11/14/2024 | Jerome Larez -- Column: Global PCB ConnectionsFlex printed circuit boards are an essential advancement in the electronics industry, enabling the development of flexible, lightweight, and durable electronic designs. As technology has evolved, long-flex PCBs have emerged as a key component in applications requiring extended or intricate routing paths. Because of their use in automotive, commercial, and medical devices, designers are becoming more comfortable designing PCBs with this technology. This column will explore their attributes and role in modern products. I will also offer some essential tips for designing with manufacturability in mind.