In the old days, the focus of manufacturing companies was mostly about how to produce stuff. Most of the products were disappearing from the horizons of engineers after moving out of their manufacturing plant dock. Not anymore. Life is different now. Manufacturers need to take care about many things related to the “real life” of their product. Maintenance and Disposal are just only two simplest examples. The only “smart” device in the line of product is my car, which reports me about the need for the next car maintenance. Rather than that, very few products have a real behavior.
Let assume you are in the business of home appliance. After installing, these units are complete idiots from the standpoint, of how they behave. CNN Money declares: Google Wants to Control Your Home. The article talks about the few announcements made by Google during Google I/O conference earlier this year. Google are rolling out somewhat called Android@Home, a platform that will be able to control almost all devices in your home – electronic, appliance, etc.
Android@Home was developed as an open protocol that can be used by any connected device and controlled by any wireless device or computer — including non-Android devices (i.e. Apple iPhone and Microsoft Windows PC)… LED light manufacturer Lighting Science lined up as an early Android@Home partner and was featured prominently in Google I/O’s keynote address on Tuesday. Lighting Science is creating light fixtures with wireless transponders, which will communicate with a wireless hub. That hub will be able to connect to devices using Google’s new platform.
Now you ask me how all these things related to PLM? Here is my take… Manufacturers are looking for new ways to connect with customers via products they manufacture and sell. Assuming your thermostat is connected to Google and then to the manufacturer of a particular thermostat. It sounds like a good idea. They can optimize thermostat behavior and get various useful parameters out of there. One more… Fridge can gather the information from your local Stop-and-Shop, look on what are your favorite meals, gather some recommendation and make a buy. In case, maintenance required, the fridge can invite maintenance people to fix it. Sounds like a dream? What is your take?
