LG Electronics wants their customers to snooze in optimal conditions

LG Electronics hopes to help people sleep better.

Oh Sai-kee, left, vice president at LG Electronics' Home and Appliance R&D Center, and Lee Dong-heon, CEO of Asleep, pose for a photo after signing an agreement to cooperate on developing home appliances that can help people to get better sleep, in Geumcheon District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 23. [LG ELECTRONICS]

LG Electronics hopes to help people sleep better.

The home appliance maker said Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Asleep to apply the start-up’s artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that diagnose people’s sleep patterns to the company’s home appliances.

Asleep's technologies analyze a person's breathing to tell when they are sleeping. Any home appliance with a microphone, such as televisions and speakers, can be programmed to use the technologies, LG Electronics said.

For instance, an air purifier that has the technology will automatically change to "sleep mode" when it detects a person has fallen asleep.

An air conditioner can adjust its temperature to best suit the situation.

The two companies said they will conduct joint research to come up with more products and services with sleep technologies.

“We will introduce innovative home appliances that will raise customers' quality of life based on Asleep’s convenience and accurate sleep diagnose technologies,” said Oh Sai-kee, vice president of LG’s Home and Appliance R&D Center.

Asleep will introduce its technologies at the upcoming CES trade show, which will kick off on Jan. 5 in Las Vegas.

LG Electronics' minimalist home appliances that will be displayed at the upcoming CES 2023 trade show [LG ELECTRONICS]

On Sunday, LG Electronics announced that the core theme of its exhibition at the annual event will be minimalism.

A total of five achromatic-colored home appliances will be on display, including a refrigerator, a washing machine and an oven. The products will have the bare minimum when it comes to their exteriors, such as physical buttons and handles, LG said.

The products will be sold in the first half of next year at the earliest.

LG Electronics said the new design concept is its attempt to reduce the volume of components and raw materials needed to make a home appliance, to value environmental, social and governance initiatives.

All packaging will be made with recycled materials, according to the company.

“Simplicity can make the values of a customer’s life more elegant,” said Kim Soo-yeon, a senior researcher at LG Electronics’ Home and Appliance Design Institute. “With minimal design, we will lead a new trend in the home appliance sector.”

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]