Technology firm and appliance manufacturer Bosch is showcasing a wide range of products at CES 2022 that highlight the interconnected nature of technology. The company aims to create a full circle system through services and digitisation, “We are systematically digitalising our core business to increase the benefits for our customers. Going forward, we aim turn the sale of every digital product into services-based revenue as well,” said Tanja Rückert, the Bosch Group’s chief digital officer.
The company sees the future of technology as being entirely connected, with products that deliver information that is in turn processed by AI and incorporated into rolling software updates. Customer feedback will be incorporated into further offerings and their updates, meaning that the firm will add value even after the initial sale of their product.
Expanding software
According to Bosch, sales of connected power tools, household appliances and heating systems alone have grown by 50% over the past year. The company is investing over four billion Euros per year to develop their software offerings and the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI) is driving their expansion into AI.
As part of the company’s continued expansion into mobility products and services, the company plans to pool development of application-independent software into one unit by the middle of the year. In the future, the company plans to sell basic software for vehicles, middleware, cloud services, and development tools for universal application. One example of this development is that Bosch has generated some nine billion Euros in sales of driver assistance systems and associated sensors. Electromobility is quickly becoming a core business for Bosch as sales recently hit one billion Euros.
Bosch Tech Compass
The Bosch Tech Compass – a representative survey conducted in five countries and presented for the first time at CES – aims to discover what people across the globe expect from new technologies. According to the survey, the majority of respondents (72%) are convinced that technological progress is making the world a better place, for instance as a key to fighting climate change (76%). At the same time, four out of five people think technology should be more focused on tackling the great challenges of our time rather than serving individual needs.
“We at Bosch also believe that technology offers a broad range of benefits,” Rückert says. “When we talk about high-tech, we’re not talking only about pushing the envelope on what’s possible. We use technology as a means to improve people’s lives wherever they are.”
Bosch SoundSee sensor system
One example of the benefit of AI and connectivity is the SoundSee sensor system. Since late 2019, it has been traveling through space to identify unusual sounds on the ISS, using AI algorithms to analyse and indicate when maintenance is required. Now, in collaboration with the American non-profit healthcare company Highmark, Bosch is pursuing a completely down-to-earth application of this technology: investigating how audio AI can be used as a diagnostic tool in pediatric medicine. The two companies are working to adapt the sensors to enable them to detect pulmonary conditions such as asthma at an early stage by listening to children’s breathing patterns.
Dryad
Bosch’s new gas sensor serves to protect both humans and nature. Part of Dryad’s Silvanet Wildfire Sensor, the device is essentially a digital nose that allows for the early detection of forest fires. Dryad’s sensors are attached to trees, where they continuously monitor the local microclimate to detect incipient fires and wirelessly notify the local authorities, long before camera or satellite-based systems can.
#LikeABosch
A new marketing campaign shows the solutions the company has developed to improve aspects of people’s everyday lives. Titled “High tech #LikeABosch – with many connected, intelligent, and sustainable solutions,” its protagonist takes viewers on a tour through her daily routine and uses several of the company’s solutions, from smart glasses to a connected e-bike to a digital access pass for work.
