[Agile Electronics Story] COVID-19 Resurgence... Focus on Contactless Home Appliance Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] ‘Agile Electronics Story’ is a corner that keenly examines small pieces of information about electronic and mechanical products and devices. From hot new products frequently appearing in advertisements and news, to nostalgic items, and puzzling products and industry terms, we will kindly cover them with the heart of a beginner.

An LG Electronics model is introducing the 'Chatbot Service.' (Provided by LG Electronics)

The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is resurging nationwide, centered around Seoul and the metropolitan area. The government plans to expand social distancing level 2 nationwide starting from the 23rd, and many companies are once again shifting to remote and flexible work to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In the home appliances and rental industry, various measures are being prepared to ensure customer safety and enhance satisfaction with appliance management amid the COVID-19 situation. Among these, untact (Untact - non-face-to-face) appliance management is gaining attention.

LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, considered the top two in the Korean home appliance industry, are providing untact appliance after-sales services by introducing chatbots and remote consultations. The chatbot service is a service that identifies the cause of product issues and suggests solutions by exchanging messages with customers via smartphones or PCs. LG Electronics has been operating a chatbot service utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology since 2018. According to LG Electronics, the chatbot service usage rate accounted for 25% of all home appliance-related services last month.

Samsung Electronics Service, through its visible remote consultation service last year, allows call center consultants to check the status of appliances via the customer's mobile phone camera and guide the troubleshooting methods. Additionally, in April of this year, when COVID-19 was spreading, Samsung Research launched a chatbot service applying deep learning technology.

Rental companies are also providing untact services. Hyundai Rental Care introduced a KakaoTalk chatbot service last month and plans to add a chat consultation function through chatbot counselors as early as this year. Some companies are releasing self-management products. Self-management products refer to appliances that autonomously manage sterilization and hygiene status or products that are easy to maintain with simple parts replacement and have long maintenance cycles even when managed by people. Rental companies such as SK Magic and Coway are releasing home appliances like self-management water purifiers.

Appliance issues that are difficult to resolve untact are repaired by engineers visiting homes directly. Home appliance and rental companies are striving to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection for both customers and employees in such cases. Appliance companies are implementing a flexible commuting system where engineers commute to and from the site directly. Also, Samsung Electronics Service and LG Electronics provide services that inspect other products when visiting homes due to reported product issues.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.